The Fork in the Road
by silverarrow65
Summary: Discontinued.
1. In His Eyes

**A/N: Hi, peoples. This is my first ever FANFIC!! WOOT! (noisemaker goes off) So, I'd just like to explain. KibaxHina is one of my favorite pairings ever and I love this couple. I hope to make this into a much longer series, where my goal will be 20 chapters. I have the storyline lightly planned out, so I am accepting requests if you guys would like anything special to happen. No flames, please. If you really hate my writing, just make it constructive criticism. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the first chapter of my little story. Review, please please please! ANYWAY! On with the reading!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and never will. If I did, I'd be a whole lot richer and I wouldn't be here writing fanfics, I'd be writing more manga and making sure Kiba and Hinata get together!

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The opening gates of Konoha loomed ahead in the night. A breeze ruffled Hinata's raven hair lightly, while the scent of blood wafted off of her. Scratches and bruises decorated her pale body, and her face bore the expression of several nights' lost sleep. Her left leg dragged behind her, leaving a trail of scarlet following after her.

FLASHBACK

_This mission was no walk in the park. She had been asked to infiltrate a neighbouring kingdom which had been corrupted. The rebel group had killed the king and queen there, and it was Hinata's task to assassinate the rebel leader before the princess of the kingdom had been slaughtered as well. _

_She spent several weeks undercover as a member of the rebellion, and in between listening to the monologues of the rebel leader, she lurked around corners at night, studying the layout of the castle and learning the secrets of those who could assist her._

_Eventually gaining the rebel leader's trust, she was given the task of watching over the princess. As soon as the leader was out of sight, she activated her Byakugan and found a small chink in the wall where she communicated with the frightened and tired princess. The princess followed along with Hinata's suggested plan, tricking the guards, while Hinata alerted the kingdom's allies to come with escorts to take the princess to safety. _

_Hinata fought her way through several dozen men with relative ease; her Byakugan gave her a strong advantage. She led the princess to the gate where the promised escorts were waiting. As the princess rode off into the night, however, the mission was not over. She still had to assassinate the leader._

_The leader was a lot more difficult than expected. Hinata had packed fewer weapons than she would've had she known his strength. The leader used swords with a delicate touch but crippling strength, and within a few minutes, Hinata was critically injured and was considering abandoning the mission. Luckily, she had kept one last resort weapon; a bomb. When she was blasted onto the wall and debris came crumbling around her, she detonated it and wove her way out of the debris, thanking kami-sama that she was small enough to get through. _

_It wasn't until Hinata was at a small creek in the woods a ways off from the castle that she heard the bomb. _

_On the way back, Hinata noticed a genin team on the road, severely dehydrated and lost. The sensei had been knocked out and utterly exhausted of his chakra a ways back, and the genin team, having rather lacking navigation skills, had attempted to get back to Konoha, succeeding in only getting farther away. Carrying the sensei on her back and giving the last of her rations to the children, she hoped she would face no more challenges and obstacles._

_Her prayers went unanswered. Near the borders of the Fire Country a group of A-class rogue ninjas appeared. With Hinata, A-class missions usually were not difficult for her, but in her deteriorated state, she actually began fearing for her life. Besides having to watch over the sensei and guard the children, she was tired from her mission, weary and injured from fighting off the rebel leader and guards, and hungry after giving away her food. _

_The first rogue ninja took a matter of seconds to get through. He was probably a newbie, just recruited, because he could hardly handle his own katana. Clumsily running towards Hinata with the katana extended, she flipped him in the air where she flung him into a tree, his own katana impaling him. _

_One of the stronger genin performed the water prison jutsu on one of the other rogues. The other two Hinata had sent to hide behind some foliage with their sensei, who had awoken not long ago. _

_Hinata performed her Gentle Fist Technique on the third rogue, who coughed blood and fell to the ground in an awkward heap, barely alive. _

_The fourth one, looking at his fallen comrades, shot a glare towards Hinata and ran off farther into the indigo night. _

_Hinata motioned to the remaining genin team members and together they started back to Konoha. Several times along the way, Hinata was forced to stop due to an overwhelming nausea, at which point she started retching and shivering uncontrollably. The sensei, who had limited experience as a med-nin and couldn't do much to heal her, suggested that perhaps she had overexerted her Byakugan, resulting in her eyes and mind being exhausted. _

_Burdened by lack of sleep, hunger, thirst and illness, Hinata continued her weakening journey back. After noticing the genin team was basically half alive on their feet, Hinata asked the sensei to bring them all back. He did so with little protest; the genin were barely graduated and were scared for their lives. After promising he would send for help if she didn't show up within a few hours after them, he disappeared into the cloak of night, carrying all three of them with him. _

Hinata had crossed the Fire Country border naught but 2 hours ago. As she continued to heave herself forward, she saw a guard asleep at the night shift stand. She waved her arms as high as her tired body would allow and croaked out pitiful cries for help as loudly as she could. After making no movement and no inclination that he was awake, Hinata paused at the gates. She had officially passed into safe territory.

Now that she was free of fear and worry, she collapsed on the ground, crying from total fatigue and the terror of the past few weeks. Hinata felt herself slipping in and out of sleep, and after a while, the ground seemed like the most comfortable, inviting bed in the world.

"Woof!"

……….

"Woof! Woof!" The barking was beginning to get louder.

….?....

"Woof!" The sound of padded feet approaching resounded in the Hyuuga heiress's ears.

….uuugghhh..

"Woof! Woof!"

…oohh..kami, what time was it?...and what was that infernal barking?...

Hinata felt something furry pressing against her. Something wet slobbered over her cheek.

She groggily opened her eyes.

"What the-Akamaru?"

Woof!

"What, what time is it?" Hinata said wearily, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.

She looked over to the east of Konoha and saw that stars still littered the navy sky. A faint tinge of burnt orange was just tickling the edge of the horizon.

"Oh…it's still night..that means I can still sleep.." muttered Hinata gratefully, nestling into Akamaru's soft fur. She inhaled its scent, but immediately regretted it, sitting up, coughing and throwing up slightly in her mouth.

"Oh, good kami, how long was it since your last bath, huh?"

Akamaru looked at Hinata innocently and whimpered a bit, his head tilting to the side.

Hinata sent Akamaru a mock scolding look and lay back down on the ground, her arms behind her head. Akamaru lay down beside her, and closed his eyes, content being next to his recently returned teammate.

A soft breeze blew through Konoha then. The smell of savoury soups and biscuits wafted through the air. The restaurants would be open soon and the chefs were starting to cook. The glittery dew on the plants sprouting in cracks on the street disappeared, and the sweet smell of flowers surrounded Hinata.

"I..I just…." Hinata whispered, half asleep.

Akamaru pined just then, and raised his head, looking inquiringly at his companion.

"I'm just so tired…I think I'll just-"

"HINA-CHAN!!! HINA-CHAN!!"

Oh joy. Maybe if I pretend I didn't hear him, he'll leave me alone. Hinata then passed back into slumber.

Kiba sprinted towards Hinata and Akamaru, still calling out for Hinata. Why hadn't she told him she'd returned? It'd been almost a month and Kiba had been literally pining for his teammate.

After arriving at Hinata's side, Kiba panted a bit, his hands on his knees, catching his breath. Then he remembered why he was out so early and turned sternly to Akamaru.

"You know better than to run off in the middle of the night like that, Akamaru. I almost tore up the whole house looking for you." Kiba scolded.

Akamaru whimpered slightly and looked down at Hinata.

"Hey," Kiba's voice became more enthusiastic. "-you found Hinata. Good boy." Kiba smiled, and rubbed his dog affectionately behind the ears. Then he knelt down beside Hinata. He looked closely at her for the first time. Seeing the dried blood and bruises, Kiba feared she was dead for a moment; she wasn't moving and she was incredibly pale, almost grey. Starting to panic, he checked her pulse and was relieved to notice a faint pulsation underneath her cold skin. Kiba gently grabbed her shoulder and shook her slightly.

"Hey, sleepyhead." He whispered. "Welcome back."

Hinata was still unconscious, though. Kiba guessed that the neither Hinata or guard probably hadn't alerted Tsunade. Once again, he inspected at her injuries, his brow furrowed in anxiety. How long had she been out here? Her wounds could've been infected or she could've gotten a fever. Wondering if her body was even strong enough to be carried the long distance to the hospital, he began to bandage up some of her cuts while still whispering to her.

"Hina-chan," his voice starting to become louder. "C'mon Hinata, you have to go see the Hokage."

Hinata stirred slightly. Then she rolled over on to her side and waved her hand up, whining "I don't wanna go, 5 more minutes." Then she fell back in blissful rest again. Kiba tried to start bandaging up her damaged and bloody left leg, but she was lying on top of her left side. He didn't dare move her over to bandage it, for fear he might cause pain or break something, so he continued to attempt to wake her up.

Several more attempts proved to be futile. Kiba frowned. He began pondering whether he should get Shino. Nah, Shino couldn't do anything, in fact he might put her to sleep even more. Maybe Sakura? Or Naruto? Or-

Wait. Naruto? That was perfect.

Kiba smiled down at Hinata. "OK, fine, I'll leave you here. Just hope Naruto doesn't see you like this, a whole mess and all-"

At that exact moment, Hinata sat up, straightening her hair and her face flushing crimson. Then her face flinched in pain and she gasped, clutching at her left leg, after putting a lot of pressure on it. When the pain become a dull ache again, she looked around and found no blonde idiot in sight. Sighing tiredly, she stood.

Continuing to straighten her hair and sniffing her breath, she said, "Kiba, you shouldn't do that kind of stuff. It's not very polite."

Kiba laughed heartily and started to bandage the leg. "Oh, come on, Hina-chan, I had to wake you up, didn't I? Besides, it's hilarious every time I see you react. You fix your looks as if it's the last thing you'll do."

Hinata pouted a bit and folded her arms. Then she slapped him on the arm playfully. "Thanks for the incredibly wonderful wakeup. I should probably head to the Hokage's office now. Wanna come with?" Kiba finished up the bandaging and stood with Hinata. Hinata cautiously leaned on her leg and slowly started to walk towards the office, beckoning Kiba after her.

Kiba's chuckling died down. "Yeah, sure, ain't got anything better to do."

The two started to walk there together, but suddenly, Hinata turned to Kiba, looking uncertain.

"Kiba…do you think I'm pretty? Do you think Naruto cares?"

Kiba was caught off guard. Rage filled inside him. Naruto again? What did she care what he thought? He was too stupid to notice that the most beautiful girl in the world was practically begging at his feet, and probably never would. Kiba had been tempted many times to just scream the plain fact in his face, just to save face for himself and Hinata. Just to ease Hinata's pain.

"Kiba?" Hinata said, concerned, seeing his angry expression.

Kiba whistled out, trying to control his expression. Then his face became serious.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kiba muttered.

"Oh, OK." Hinata murmured happily. She continued to walk again.

"But, Hinata," Kiba said urgently, grabbing her wrist. "You shouldn't care what he thinks. He doesn't know beauty when it's right in front of him."

Hinata's eyes bore into Kiba's, slight shock written on her face. Then she started to blush, and looked away.

"Um, thank you, Kiba."

Kiba suddenly realized he was blushing. Where had that come from? Since when did Kiba Inuzuka ever let his feelings come to the surface?

The silence started to become awkward, and Kiba broke out into a grin.

"Hah! Gotcha! Naw, I wouldn't call you pretty, I would call you cute in a sisterly way." He broke the silence, laughing, and ruffled Hinata's hair lightly.

The shock and blush wiped off Hinata's face. A mixture of relief and disappointment came in its stead.

"Oh, ok." Hinata turned on her heel and started to walk to the Hokage's office, faster than usual, obviously trying to say she would rather go alone now.

Kiba lingered behind and slapped himself mentally and in reality. Why had he said she was "cute"? Why couldn't he come up with a better cover? After living with his sister, he knew it was basically taboo to go up to a girl and say she wasn't pretty (although after meeting Ino he couldn't say she didn't confirm the rumor). He knew Hinata always longed to be pretty, and often she went to him for comfort whenever she doubted her appearance. And right off the bat he said she wasn't pretty and was instead "cute". Kiba knew that Hinata would be wondering if Naruto thought the same.

Kiba knew he had limited excuses for what had just happened. But it was the only cover he could think of at the time. Kiba understood and learned early on that she had difficult times at home, on the battlefield, in love, everywhere, and that he was her only sanctuary. One of her few real friendships. He was a brother to her. He always would be.

He dropped his head to his hands and held it in his hands for a while. _As a brother…_was that all he was to her? And for a moment Kiba wished that he hadn't tried to cover up what he said.

Kiba turned his head after Hinata and watched her retreating figure, whispering words that would forever be etched into his heart.

"You're not pretty, Hinata; you're beautiful."

**A/N: So, what'd you think? Love it, hate it? Review, and yes, I have the storyline for the next chapter planned out, but for future chapters, as said earlier, I will accept requests. So, yeah...pretty please go review. I will give you a cookie if you do so! **


	2. Breaking Dams and Mission Briefings

**A/N: Yeah, I uploaded two chapters in one day. This story is just flowing! I know not much excitement yet, but I can promise you, there will be more romance and action later on. Or, at least I hope you guys think it's romance and action. O___O Anyway, here's the next chapter of The Fork in the Road. Hope you guys like it!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did there'd be a whole lot more romance and more snarky remarks, thereby leading to rude comedy and tons more swearing. But, no seriously, I bow to Kishimoto-sensei's creativity.  
**

"Knock, knock." Hinata said quietly as she entered Tsunade's office.

Tsunade looked up from the pile of documents on her desk and stopped rubbing her temples. Smiling slightly, she stood and walked around the front of her desk, leaning on the edge.

"Welcome back, Hinata. I knew I could trust you with this mission. Now, onto filing out the-" Tsunade paused and took a quick look over Hinata's body, hastily wrapped with messy bandaging. "Did a blind man do your bandages or something? It looks terrible."

Tsunade tsked and went behind her desk to retrieve several rolls of bandaging. She sat Hinata down on the examination table in the room adjacent to her office and started unwinding Kiba's bandages. While the bloody gauze was replaced with cleaner ones, Hinata took a close look at her leg and flinched at the sight of it. Earlier in the explosion back at the castle, her leg had been crushed and impaled by a wooden beam and several stones. Brownish blood leaked out muddily and other murky liquids dripped from the injury. The flesh surrounding the wound was purple and black.

Tsunade examined the wound closely, not even blinking as she took in the sight of the wound. Then she looked back up at Hinata and sighed disappointedly.

"Hinata, what time did you get back to Konoha?"

Hinata shifted nervously.

"I don't know. Maybe 6 or 7 hours ago?"

"Exactly. If you couldn't get to the hospital or the night guard couldn't hear you, you should've healed yourself. Didn't you remember the herbs I gave you before you left?"

Hinata's eyes widened. Reaching her hand slowly to her belt, she ran her fingers over the padded pocket and felt several spindly twigs and leaves beneath it. Her face turned red with embarrassment, and she bowed her head to Tsunade.

"I apologize, Tsunade-sama. Please forgive my mistake." Hinata implored pitifully.

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively at Hinata, smiling slightly at her.

"Don't worry about it; everyone can get a little careless sometimes when they're that tired. At least the infection hasn't penetrated too deep. Just sit still, and I'll be back in a minute with the antibiotics."

Tsunade stood and sighed at her cracking bones. She shuffled out of the room, rubbing her back.

The corners of Hinata's mouth rose as she looked at the aged Hokage. Even though the citizens of Konoha worried for her aging self, everyone was proud to call her their leader. She had served her land well and when she did pass, she would always be remembered well.

Hinata was woken from her reverie by a loud voice coming through the open window at the other side of the room. Standing up very carefully, she limped over to the window and looked down, suddenly breaking out into a grin.

Naruto was down there, blocking Tsunade from getting to the storage area with the herbs and medicines. She looked annoyed and Hinata frequently heard the word "baka" floating up to the room.

Naruto continued to block her and started yelling something else about being Hokage, all the while pumping his fist in the air. Even at this distance, Hinata could hear Tsunade sigh tiredly and lecture Naruto again about "disrupting the peace". Soon after, she gracefully disappeared in a whiff of smoke while Naruto ran off to find something else to occupy him.

Hinata placed her hand on the windowsill; sighing, leaning against the window frame and watching Naruto's blonde head fade away into the crowd.

What she didn't know was Kiba was just beyond the wall in Tsunade's office, and had seen everything. What she didn't know was that every time she broke, he shattered, and every time she stood up, he stood up higher, just so she had something to hold on to.

But he was tired. Nonetheless, Kiba had always marveled at Hinata's quiet but deliberate, resistant strength. Watching Naruto plow through life while she was left to pick up the pieces had taken a toll on her, and Kiba could see the age and sorrow beginning to peek through.

Naruto took too much for granted. Those loving stares and soft sighs given so freely and selflessly to Naruto were only the stuff of dreams for Kiba. Because no matter what happened, when she waited, he waited longer.

Kiba looked sadly down. He wanted to scream at her. But he couldn't. If Hinata would only go to Kiba for friendship, then he would give her the best damn friendship of all time. All those times Hinata lost hope; he remained the strongest shoulder to cry on. What should've been a victory for him he generously turned into a victory for Naruto and Hinata, just because he couldn't bear the thought of her being unhappy.

"Kiba?"

Kiba awoke and saw Hinata staring at him concerned, having noticed his presence. He smiled softly at her.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" He went and stood by Hinata, leaning on the windowsill, watching her face.

She smiled at him gently. "Tons better." Then she looked off dreamily in the direction Naruto had gone. "At least, I am now."

And the dam broke.

Kiba just couldn't hold it in any longer. If Naruto had accepted Hinata at the first moment, maybe he wouldn't have felt this way. Maybe if he hadn't grown accustomed to watching her being hurt, then maybe things wouldn't have had to turn out like this. Whenever Hinata was rejected, he should've just told her the first time to forget about him and taken her away with him. It would've saved him pain. It would've saved her pain. He was getting sick of continuously giving her strength just so she could get knocked down again.

Kiba took a deep breath.

"Kiba?" Hinata brought her hands together and her chest, fiddling with her fingers, her voice full of worry.

Kiba walked straight up to her and grabbed her arms firmly, although careful not to hurt her. He looked her full in the eye.

"Hinata," Kiba whispered. "I-I have to tell you something."

Hinata swallowed nervously and met his gaze timidly.

"I-"

"Am I interrupting something?"

Kiba silently cursed at the person who had disturbed this moment. Turning around to face him, he saw none other than Shino standing there.

"Should I go or something?" Shino asked monotonously.

Hinata looked over Kiba's shoulder and smiled, relieved. She lightly broke free of Kiba grasp and walked around him to meet Shino. Kiba crossed him arms and muttered under his breath.

"No, Shino, you're not interrupting. Kiba was just visiting me while Tsunade went to get some medicine."

Hinata walked back over to the examination table and attempted to heave herself up onto it. However, her leg was making it difficult, and she was flinching every time it bumped against the table.

Kiba uncrossed his arms and walked quickly over to Hinata.

"Here, let me help-"

"No!" Hinata exclaimed quietly. She removed her arm from his hand and laughed softly, nervous. "No, but thank you Kiba. I just need to get adjusted to this." Then she hoisted herself up onto the table, although Kiba noticed beads of sweat on her forehead after her leg hit the bottom metal drawer on the table.

Kiba went back to the windowsill, slightly dejected. Had he frightened her or something? Something inside of him broke a bit. He hadn't expected her to ever be frightened of him…

Suddenly, a noise made the trio look up suddenly. The door to Tsunade's office, and Hinata heard Naruto spontaneously shout,

"Alright, Tsunade baa-chan, I've-" Naruto paused. Hinata could imagine his blonde head looking around the room in confusion. She heard him mutter some words under his breath. "Maybe in the other room…" His footsteps approached.

Kiba looked to Hinata at that moment. She started to tremble slightly and her face was a bright scarlet. Her fingers were twiddling with each other uncontrollably as she tried fixing her hair one more time.

Naruto strolled into the room, noticing all of Team 8 sitting there. His mouth broke out in a huge grin.

"Hey guys! What up-" Naruto paused and realized Shino was sitting in a chair less than two feet away from him, looking up at him.

Naruto sweatdropped, shuddering visibly and then murmured a greeting to Shino. Then he walked over expectantly to Hinata.

"Hey Hinata! You're back!" he laughed, clapping her on the shoulder roughly. Kiba tensed. Naruto obviously hadn't noticed the cuts and bandages she was sporting. He saw how Hinata had hidden the obvious pain the hard clap had caused. Then she smiled through it shyly, barely looking him in the eye.

"H-hai, N-naruto-kun. A-a-rig-gato." She looked up at him squarely for a fraction of a moment, but seeing the way his blue eyes pierced hers strongly she averted her gaze back down immediately, suddenly very interested in the colouring of the tile on the floor.

Naruto then propped himself against the examination table. Turning his head to Hinata, he said loudly,

"Bet you took care of those bad guys, neh, Hina-chan? Knew you would." He laughed, playfully nudging Hinata's left knee. She let out a soft cry, but immediately covered her mouth with her hand. Even so, Kiba saw her eyes water slightly from the pain.

Kiba uncrossed his arms very suddenly, angry. "Oi, Naruto, can you just spare us your stupidity for once? Can't you see she's injured? You're obviously hurting her." Kiba said through gritted teeth, his flaring temper obvious.

"Oh!" Naruto, finally noticing the wounds, turned to Hinata, apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Hina-chan, if I hurt you."

Kiba shut his eyes in an attempt to stop the fury from pouring through. Naruto had no idea how much he had hurt her.

Hinata smiled at him, her eyes forgiving. "Don't worry, Naruto, it's nothing."

Kiba's eyes flew open. His hands clenched into fists, and he shouted, "No! It's not alright, Hinata! He's been stupid all this time and hasn't realized how you're feeling! Why are you still forgiving him?"

Hinata's eyes closed and she hung her head. "Kiba, please..It's not his fault…"

"No, Hinata. I've had enough. You've had enough. This isn't right."

Hinata looked up at him with imploring, sorrowful eyes. "Please, I beg you.."

Kiba was baffled. Was she asking to be hurt by Naruto? Was she asking for more pain? It was clear to Kiba that soon she wouldn't be able to handle the pain and she would be permanently injured by Naruto. Kiba's face became pure defiance, daring her to question otherwise.

"No, Hina-chan. I'm sorry. I won't let him hurt you anymore. I'm doing this to protect you."

"Uhh, hey," Naruto held up his hand between the two teammates. "Look, I'm really sorry if I caused you any pain, Hinata." He turned to Hinata, nodding his head guiltily. "But Kiba, I can see her injuries as clear as you can. I'm not going to hurt her."

"Yes, you will!" Kiba practically yelled. "Can't you stop being an idiot for just a minute and see that?!"

Naruto's face twisted into offense and held tinges of irritation. "Hey, look buddy, sorry, but you can lay off now. No need to start insulting me. I didn't kill her or anything."

Kiba laughed bitterly and shook his head, eyes flaring, resuming his rant. "Spare us. You think you've got it all figured out, don't you? You think that you haven't hurt her way worse before this? And you say you won't kill her. You'll do a whole lot worse until you know the truth."

"Kiba…" Shino warned.

Hinata was in tears now. She brought her hands up and begged Kiba pitifully, "Kiba, don't. Please don't."

"Wait, what truth?" Naruto asked suspiciously. He turned to Kiba, his eyes and ears alert. "What are you trying to say?"

Kiba sighed, frustrated. What he was about to say would either ruin him, Hinata or both. If Naruto accepted Hinata with open arms, Kiba would only have himself to blame. And if Naruto rejected her, Hinata would break one final time, and Kiba wasn't sure if this time he would be able to piece her back together. He gathered his courage, nonetheless. "Naruto, Hinata-"

Tsunade very suddenly walked into the room, having heard everything and attempting to stop Kiba. "I have the medicine." She said quietly to Hinata, shaking the bottle of liquid. After opening several drawers, Tsunade found an appropriately sized syringe and sterilized it, at which point she drew some medicine from the bottle.

As Tsunade started healing and mending Hinata's wounds, the whole room stayed quiet. Tsunade had pretended she had heard nothing the whole time, while Naruto's face read pure shock and confusion. Kiba crossed his arms and closed his eyes, still fuming, and refusing to look at anyone. Shino appeared very captivated in a small fly crawling on his sleeve.

Tsunade quietly and diligently cleaned all of Hinata's wounds and rewrapped all of them a third time.

"Ok, Hinata. You're all done." Tsunade said very softly, in a tone none of them were used to. "You should go home and rest up now. Tomorrow, come here if your leg is feeling better and we'll fill out the paperwork."

Hinata looked down, clutching her hands and still shaking slightly from the earlier argument. "Hai, Tsunade-sama." Hinata lightly pushed herself off the table and Tsunade walked her to the door. She returned to the room, one hand on her hip.

"Shino, didn't I assign you to a mission? Shouldn't you be packing?"

Shino paused. He didn't remember any mission. Tsunade's eyes bore into his and with a miniscule movement not noticed by anyone else but Shino, her eyes motioned to the door.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama. I'll go pack immediately." Shino stood and left the room, the door closing quietly behind him.

Tsunade sat down, sighed, and protruded a bottle of sake from what appeared to be thin air.

"Alright boys. I have a mission for the both of you." She said, bored. She hung her head, swinging the bottle of sake freely. Then, she pulled out two manila folders, from what once again appeared to be, thin air.

"Report back here tomorrow, the both of you. We'll need to discuss the details of the mission. You have one third team member, but we'll talk about that tomorrow. Read over the briefings and don't hesitate to call me if you have questions."

Tsunade noticed the anxiety on the two teens' faces, and she chuckled.

"I'm guessing what you were arguing about earlier must've been pretty serious if you two aren't excited. This is an S-Class. One step closer to Hokage, neh, Naruto?"

Naruto was staring off into space. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Right. Hokage, one step closer, yeah…" He went back off to staring.

The faint smile wiped off Tsunade's face. "Alright, you two can leave."

No one moved. Neither of them heard a word, as both were off gazing into space, still pondering the earlier argument.

"OK, when I said you can leave, I mean get out, and I mean get out now so I can enjoy my sake in peace."

Tsunade stood and started ushering the two out. She led them both back into the office and lightly shoved Naruto out the door. Then she closed it.

"Tsunade-sama?" Kiba questioned. Why hadn't she let him out?

"Kiba, we need to talk." Tsunade said seriously. "Take a seat."

Kiba sat down in front of her desk uncomfortably. He had this eerie feeling that something big was about to happen, but couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Tsunade took a seat in her spinning chair and spun around to face him. She placed both her elbows on the desk, lacing her manicured fingers together in front of her mouth. She fixed an intense stare on Kiba.

"Kiba," she said firmly. "This is your last chance."

**A/N: OOHHHH!!! WHAT WAS TSUNADE TALKING ABOUT?!?!?! Nah, I'm sure you guys all know. And if you don't, well hopefully that's just more incentive to keep reading. Please, review! They are my motivation for writing! Thx so much for reading, see you next chapter (which will most likely be up tomorrow). **


	3. Regrets and The Departure of an Heiress

**A/N: Hey guys. It's been a while, neh? LOL, like 3 hours, maybe. Anyway, no reviews yet, sadly, but I suppose that's OK since at least people are reading this. I have no idea if having 11 readers in 3 hours is any good? No? Yes? Meh, screw it. So, here's the next chapter of the Fork in the Road. I KNOW there's no action yet, but I promise you, there will be, seeing how I love action scenes and all. I really just want some time for Kiba to gather his thoughts. So, yeah, don't be surprised if there's another chapter or 5 up today. SOOOO! ON WITH READING!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and never will. All hail Kishimoto-sensei's creative genius. BUT IF I DID OWN NARUTO, I would be making sure Kiba and Hinata get together and make a spinoff series about all their kids.

* * *

Kiba crossed both his legs and arms, arching an eyebrow at Tsunade.

"Excuse me?"

Tsunade sighed exasperatedly. Pushing back from the desk, she drew open one of the drawers in her desk and pulled out a third manila folder. She tossed it to Kiba, who caught it with ease.

Kiba inspected the folder.

"What is this?"

Tsunade resumed her original position, tapping her red fingernails together impatiently.

"Open it." She ordered.

Kiba did as asked. Several sheets of paper slid out reading details of the mission Kiba had been sent to go on. He looked at each of the sheets, until he froze very abruptly. The team list was written in bold lettering on the final sheet.

_**Inuzuka K.,… **_

_**Uzumaki N.,……**_

_**Hyuga H.**_

"So just what are you trying to tell me?" Kiba inquired, closing the folder.

"Kiba," Tsunade began. "I heard everything. You have to tell her."

Kiba's eyes went wide. Then, very slowly, he replaced the folder on the desk again, sitting back in his chair with a surprised sigh. Then her ran his hand through his hair, unsure of what to do.

"I know."

Tsunade stood and walked around to the other side of the desk, leaning on the edge, her eyes boring into his.

"I originally intended for this mission to be Team 7 and Team 8 mix, although not quite like this. It would've been Hinata, Naruto and Sakura or Shino. But seeing as how Shino has that important mission of his," Tsunade blinked twice rather rapidly, revealing her weakness at lying. "and that Sakura is still needed at the hospital, I decided to send you instead. And now that you've got this little predicament on your hands," Tsunade crouched down so that she was a eye height with Kiba, whispering. "-it seems that my decision will give you this last chance to get what you've always wanted."

Kiba looked Tsunade full in the eye; nervousness, gratefulness, and a twinge of sadness all apparent in his chocolate orbs. Then he averted his gaze to the floor, unable, no, _afraid, _of what she would tell him in her eyes.

"I-I" Kiba stammered, uncertain of what was about to unfold. "I, um, I'm not sure-"

Tsunade grabbed hold of Kiba's jaw. She moved even closer to Kiba, staring at him very intently, so close that the Kiba could smell the strong scent of sake on her breath. Tsunade turned his head this way and that, staring at his face. Finally, she returned his face back to its normal position, still clutching his jaw, his eyes once again fixed on hers.

"Kiba, I believe in you. Hinata is a very special girl, and she's had a tough life. You're the only one who can put her back together."

Kiba sighed sadly.

"That may be true, but she loves Naruto. If he loves her back, then she'll have everything she'll have ever wanted."

Tsunade chuckled slightly.

"Young love is very foolish, Kiba. I can't tell you now if Naruto can make Hinata happier than you can, but I can tell you that if you don't try, you will regret it forever." Tsunade's eyes suddenly grew older and full of sadness, recalling her time with Jiraiya.

"But Kiba, this mission really is your last chance. Hinata has decided to leave as soon as she returns with Neji and Hanabi for one year to go train and to improve. She may not be the same when she comes back." Tsunade let go of Kiba's jaw and stood, turning around and looking out the window, her hands on the desk.

"It's her decision. Her father has given her this opportunity, and she wants to take it. You," Tsunade turned her head slightly towards Kiba. "and Naruto are the only ones who can convince her to stay. " Turning around fully, she crossed her arms.

"Are you asking me to get her to fall in love with me before Naruto?" Kiba asked accusingly.

Tsunade smirked. "Isn't that what you want?"

Kiba was about to rebuff her, when Tsunade seemed to read his mind and answer immediately.

"Telling Naruto how Hinata feels will do nothing. It will ruin her, and possibly make her resent you. As I stated earlier, I don't know how she feels right now, and I wish her only happiness, as you do. Since Hinata will most likely confess to Naruto since she's leaving soon, Naruto may reconsider her and actually accept her, and I don't think that that's something you want happening, huh?"

Kiba stared at Tsunade.

"How do you know all this?"

Tsunade gave him a small, sad smile.

"Because I did the exact same thing you did, only I came too late."

Kiba stood and met her gaze evenly, gazing deep into her eyes. He saw the pain she concealed.

"Please," Tsunade whispered, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "you don't know how painful it is to come too late. I regret that I didn't do something sooner every day, and I suffer greatly for it. Don't let that happen to Hinata, or you or Naruto."

Kiba nodded once very slowly.

"I swear it, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade nodded once, and Kiba took this as his cue to leave. His hand reached for the doorknob, but before turning it, he turned his head, inclined to Tsunade, and asked,

"Tsunade-sama, do you think Hinata could, could love me?"

Tsunade looked up, tears still streaming. Then she smirked a little through.

"Well, Kiba, you're a very handsome boy. Nice, strong jaw." She chuckled, tapping her own chin. Then she turned away from him and sat back down at her desk.

Kiba turned back to the door, smiling, and left Tsunade's office with a renewed sense of hope and determination.

* * *

**A/N: I know it was a short chapter, sorry. But this chapter really just reflects how Kiba's feeling and addresses any weak points that I didn't talk about earlier. Next chapter, they'll all be leaving for their mission, promise. I only did this chapter in like, 52 minutes anyway, so (sheepish smile). I'm already working on the 4th chapter, so please, GO REVIEW. :)**


	4. Advice and Flaring Tempers

**A/N: HEEEYY! I would like to extend a special thank you to Aka Aurora, who was my first ever reviewer and had such nice comments. :) Totally gave me motivation for this chapter and I finished it in under an hour (insert glee here). Here's the next chapter, hope you like. **

**Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. All hail Kishimoto-sensei, blah blah blah.  
**

Hinata's POV: Underlined

Kiba's POV: **Bold**

Narration: regular text

I sat down on my bed, the soft mattress creaking slightly. My belt was hanging on the door handle, several of its contents spilling out. A couple kunai scattered the floor with my shuriken hastily unpacked in the half full pack on the floor.

My mind went back to this morning, and what Kiba had said. I can't say that when he told me that I was beautiful that my heart didn't flutter. I was so caught off guard and I just stood there stammering like a moron. 

Frankly, after running to Kiba for so long, I was afraid he would grow tired of me. I was always crying, always hurt, always being pathetic and weak. I admired his patience and gentleness with me, and marveled at his strength when he protected others. I longed to be like him. When he looked at me with such seriousness, I started questioning whether he was right about my feelings for Naruto. Under his intense gaze, all I could do was get lost and hope that no one ever found me in his dark orbs. 

"Damn him.." I whispered. "Why did he have to say that? Why couldn't it have been true?"

I fell back on the bed, sobbing quietly into the pillow. I was thankful that I didn't blurt anything out before I knew it was a joke; that would've been awkward. But still, I might've found out Kiba's incentive to advising me so fiercely about Naruto. He wouldn't be doing it because…

No, impossible. Absolutely impossible. Ludicrous, even. Guys like Kiba like fall in love with beautiful, skinny girls, like Ino. Girls like me marry whoever is rich and is chosen for us.

For a minute, a thought clouded my mind. What would happen if I Kiba did like me? What about all those years I loved Naruto?

No, I was wrong. I couldn't love Kiba. In his eyes, I was a little sister, probably annoying, too. I was not going to ruin whatever I had with him. It was too precious to lose. It was safer to love Naruto, no matter how much it hurt me. I wouldn't get in the way of Kiba's happiness. 

I forced myself to believe that the only reason I wanted to be around Kiba was that I admired him. Yeah, that's right. I admired his battle strengths, his kindness, his jokes, everything. It wasn't love. It just wasn't.

A voice in my head whispered, tauntingly, "You're in denial, girl. You love him. You've loved him since Day One. Too late to turn back now." She laughed gleefully.

"No." I whispered to her. "I only admire him as a role model."

"Please," she scoffed. "Save it. Because you admire him for his strong arms, his tanned skin, his toned muscles…" 

"Oh, kami." I put my head in my hands, trying to ignore her, blushing furiously. "I-I, I barely noticed those."

"Right. Because you DON'T stare at him when you two are practicing and he's sweating hard. Because the only reason you ever ask to train with him is so you DON'T have to check him out. Because you HATE it when he takes off his shirt after the practice and pours water all over himself."

"Ugghh.." I moaned. "Go away, I don't need this right now."

"OK, fine." Said the voice. "But you're gonna have to face it someday. Ooh, am I gonna enjoy your guys' confession to each other…" she said happily.

"What?! What, no, no no, no, there is NO confession of anything about anyone to anyone, especially Kiba." I covered my mouth with my hand abruptly, realizing how stupidly obvious that sounded.

The voice chuckled good-naturedly. "I'll be there to help you, no worries. Besides, given the way he watches you when you guys train, I'd say he likes you back." 

I looked up suddenly, my blush deepening even more. Did he-, was it even possible…?

"Spirit, you don't think that…"

"Please, call me Keikoku."

I paused for a moment.

"Your name means 'prostitute'?"

"What? No! It means advice. Got a problem with that?" Keikoku asked, challenging.

"No, not at all. I like it." I reassured her.

"Oh, OK." She said, caught off guard but rather pleased. "See you later tonight, Hinata!"

"Wait, Keikoku, what about my question? And what do you mean 'later tonight'?"

No answer.

I sighed. This Keikoku was annoying. Suddenly, there was a knock at my door. 

"Come in." I answered, lowering myself onto the floor and starting to organize my things.

Hanabi walked in.

"Hinata, Sakura's here to see you. Tsunade asked her to come to do some extra work on your leg."

Sakura appeared behind Hanabi. 

"Hey, Hinata-chan." She waved her hand, smiling. "No need to get up," she said, noticing that I was about to stand. "I'm just going to do some chakra work on it."

Sakura walked around Hanabi and motioned for me to sit on the bed. As Hanabi shut the door, green light emitted from Sakura's palms and she placed them gently on my leg. As she mended the torn ligaments, we started to talk.

"So, how was your mission?" she asked, looking up at me.

"It was fine. Just got back about 12 hours ago."

"Hmmm.." Sakura nodded, turning her attention back to my leg. "Tsunade mentioned that she had done some work earlier on your leg when she noticed some horrible bandaging on it. Who did it for you?"

"Kiba!" I answered immediately. Sakura looked up at me inquiringly. "Uh, yes, Kiba, he, he um, helped me when he found me lying on the ground by the gates."

Sakura looked at me with suspicious eyes. "Hinata, why are you blushing?"

"I,I, um, well-" I stammered stupidly. "Well, you know, I mean, y-you shouldn't harass an injured kunoichi with questions like that when they're obviously disoriented!" I accused pathetically.

"Uhuh..sure, fine." Sakura went back to my leg again. "So, when did you start liking him?"

I froze. Crap, I was way too obvious.

I sighed. "Sakura, please don't. I really don't see him as anything besides a teammate and good friend."

"OK, OK," she surrendered. "Oh, speaking of missions, Tsunade said that after I'm finished up with your leg, to go meet her at her office. She said that you still have paperwork and another mission to be briefed on.

"Another mission?" I asked incredulously. "But, but I just got back!"

Sakura smiled at me sadly. "I know, but with the Akatsuki getting out of control and all that, there's been a shortage of qualified shinobi lately. I've had to go around healing people like you non-stop just so that they can leave immediately again."

Sakura drew her hands away from my leg. You could hardly tell that there had been an injury in the first place, save a light scar. Moving her hands up to the other bandages, she unwrapped them and ran her green chakra over the other smaller wounds. In a matter of seconds, I was free of all cuts and scrapes.

"Alright, go on now. I've got some other shinobi to go heal." I started to walk out of my room, tired as hell with my shoulders slumped. "But Hinata-chan," Sakura placed her hand on my shoulder. "-maybe when this is all over we'll all go out again. Just like old times. Maybe even with Kiba." She stood and walked out of the room, winking at me, and leaving me standing in the open doorway looking like an idiot. 

I sighed. I just couldn't get a break. Quickly grabbing my belt off the door handle, I proceeded over to Tsunade's office, tying the strap as I sprinted out of the Hyuga compound. 

* * *

**I walked out of Tsunade's office, hands in my pockets, looking so pensive that when I passed by Naruto outside he asked if I was constipated.**

**By the time we arrived at Ichiraku's, Naruto was still rubbing his black eye and kept muttering 'teme' to me for the rest of the afternoon.**

**After Naruto finished his 16****th**** bowl and was sighing happily, I leaned forward on the counter, inspecting the wood grain, and said,**

"**You read the briefing yet?"**

**Naruto stared at me with a blank expression. He arched an eyebrow at me and started chuckling,**

"**C'mon, Kiba. How hard can this be? We're infiltrating Amegakure and taking one of the scrolls from the Akatsuki, end of story. No need to waste time reading over petty details."**

"**Then you would know who our third team member is?" I said, with a twinge of annoyance.**

**Naruto finished draining the soup in his bowl. While chewing the noodles, he asked, "We have a third team member?" **

**I smacked that baka upside the head like the doofus he is.**

"**Hinata! Kami.." I muttered, impatient. **

**Naruto turned to face me.**

"**Man, what's up with you? Ever since earlier today you've been pissy, especially at me. Does it have to do with 'the truth' or whatever?"**

**Tsunade's words replayed in my mind. She was right. Telling Naruto Hinata's feelings would only make things worse; she would be humiliated, I'd lose a best friend, and Naruto…well, no one was sure about him yet. **

**I didn't answer him immediately and fiddled with my chopsticks.**

"**No, I just had a bad morning, is all. The truth is just that I knew we had another mission and I didn't want you causing Hinata any more pain while she was healing, that's all."**

"**Huh," Naruto's voice had slight disbelief embedded in it, but he wisely decided not to delve too deep. "K, whatever you say. I gotta get home and get packing. Meet you at the gates at 6."**

**I murmured a goodbye to Naruto and sat there waiting; for what, I wasn't sure. Aiko, one of the workers at Ichiraku, was wiping a glass clean, and leaned on the counter towards me.**

"**Who's the girl?"**

**I looked up abruptly. "Huh?"**

**She laughed. "You're obviously thinking about a girl. That look in your eyes is no mistake. You'd be surprised, lots of guys come here to think that kind of stuff."**

**I stared back down again.**

"**It's…..complicated."**

"**Isn't it always?" she giggled.**

**I smiled a bit. "Yeah, I suppose so."**

**Placing the clean glass down, she placed both arms on the counter and leaned closer to me.**

"**If I were you, I'd be getting ready. You have a mission, don't you? I'm sure she'll like it if you show up at the gates first; after all, most girls like it when guys come early." She advised.**

**I nodded slowly. Reaching into my pocket, I dropped a fistful of coins on the counter. "Thanks for the help."**

**I heaved my sorry self up and ran sluggishly back home. Maybe it wasn't too late; maybe the idea of Hinata and me wasn't impossible.**

* * *

"Alright, Hinata. Paperwork's all done now." Tsunade sighed. She sat back down behind her desk and inspected the various paper cuts sprinkled over her fair skin. She pulled out a nail file and started filing her nails.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." I answered obediently.

Tsunade looked up at me while blowing on her finger tips.

"I trust Sakura told you about the mission?" she inquired.

I nodded.

"K, here's all the details." Tsunade handed the folder to me. "Be ready to leave at 6, at the front gates."

Wait, I thought. She's not sending me on this mission alone?

Tsunade read my thoughts and met my eyes with a dull stare. 

"No, you're not going alone, the team list is in there." She said, bored, still filing her nails.

I opened the folder. "Oh, um, Ok…"

Tsunade looked up suddenly and cast me a wide-eyed glance. She stood up quickly and started ushering me out the door, informing me with instructions.

"Alright, so read all of it, pack, sleep, eat and just be ready to go in a few hours." She said loudly and rapidly. Her hand was on the doorknob and she opened it, shoving me out. 

"Wait, but I-"

And the door closed in my face, with the lock clicking behind it. What was that about?

I opened the folder again and checked the team list as asked. My mouth hit the floor.

And I screamed. THIS WAS SO NOT HAPPENING.

* * *

Kiba was standing by the gates, obediently, and as Aiko had advised. He fingered Akamaru's fur nervously. Akamaru whined softly and looked up at him.

"Nothing, boy. I'm just.." I took a shaky breath. "-kinda nervous."

Hinata approached around the corner, but took a step back when she saw Kiba there.

Keikoku was in her head again, _He's your teammate. He won't kill you._ Hinata nodded to herself and took a deep breath, walking toward Kiba.

Kiba cast his glance upward and saw Hinata walking towards him. He smiled a bit, determined not to scare her like earlier. He brought his hand up in greeting.

"Hi, Kiba-kun." Hinata said softly. She walked over to a stone wall and leaned on it, not too far from Kiba.

The silence that settled around them was infinitely awkward, and both sighed audibly in relief when they heard Naruto's voice coming towards them.

"Hey Hinata, Kiba." Naruto whistled happily. "Ready to go?"

Kiba glanced at Hinata. She looked like she was about to pass out. Kiba sighed, frustrated and annoyed, and thrust a map into Naruto's hands.

"That's the route we're taking. Hinata and I've both already memorized it. You can study it as we're walking."

Naruto made a whining noise. "Studying?"

Hinata rose her hand slightly, as if asking if she was allowed to speak. "D-don't worry, N-naruto-kun. It's not v-very h-h-hard. I'm sure y-you'll memorize it j-j-just fine."

Naruto grunted proudly, and muttered something along the lines of, "Well, I mean, future Hokage's gotta be able to do anything…"

Kiba shouldered his pack, eyes closed in annoyance. Akamaru whimpered up at his master. "Let's go, Akamaru." He said sharply. "Hinata, Naruto, c'mon." he finished, his voice a tad softer.

Hinata ducked her head, clasping her hands together, obediently following Kiba. Naruto was still staring at the map with wide eyes, looking confused. He held his hand up after Kiba, "Hey, Kiba, lemme just finish seeing this-"

"No, Naruto." Kiba snapped. He turned around to face him fully. "We can't lose time. Besides, I'm the team captain. We leave when I say so."

"Kiba…" Hinata murmured. "It's not his fault. No need to get too defensive. We're a team, remember, not enemies."

Naruto nodded, barely listening, still concentrating hard on the map, turning it this way and that. "Yeah, yeah, what Hinata said…"

Kiba's eyes narrowed and he growled, "Fine." He turned on his heel sharply, with Akamaru walking after him pitifully. Hinata followed with Naruto covering the rear, still baffled by the numerous lines on the map.

**A/N: I know the adventure hasn't started yet. Please don't shoot me. I just don't like it when I have to conclude stories, is all. Nonetheless, hope you guys enjoyed it, might have another chapter up today (I know right? 3 chapters in one day. I have a life -_-) Please go review, because it motivates me to write 30 million chapters. OH, and BTW, next chapter there might just be something really fluffy and romantic when Kiba and Hinata have a moment alone in the forest. And no, it's not a lemon. LOL. **

**K, see you next chapter. **


	5. Confrontation in the Forest

**A/N: Hi everyone. You know, I was reading my chapters the other day and I was really disappointed with myself. I felt like I was rushing and I just wasn't happy with it. This chapter I was determined to make it really descriptive. You might notice a difference, or you may think it sounds like the same crap as last time. Whatever, enjoy the next chapter of The Fork in the Road. I also noticed Kiba seems to be very angry in every chapter....but I mean, someone has to be. Whatever, go read now.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't f-ing own Naruto, I don't know HOW many times I have to say it.  
**

Three hours. Three goddamn hours. No matter how long Naruto pleaded, Kiba refused to stop and let him, ahem, take care of some business. Kiba's face remained stony and he continued to leap from branch to branch, not even casting Naruto a glance. Hinata frequently checked behind her to make sure Naruto hadn't collapsed or something. Worry was consuming her. He had refused to drink or eat anything she offered, and she attempted to reassure herself it had nothing to do with the fact that it was her hand who offered it.

Naruto was trembling violently, his face an unhealthy shade of puce. He struggled to form words, sweat dripping down the side of his face.

"Kiba," he said shakily. "I'm begging you man, help me out here.."

Naruto stopped on a stable branch and clutched his torso, moaning softly.

Kiba stopped as well and without turning around, said harshly, "There's no time to stop. We're not even a quarter of the way there yet. I won't have you losing us time." Kiba's fists clenched. "Besides, we never know when anyone might be following us. If we stop for longer than a few seconds, the scent will build up and anyone can track us down." Kiba stopped to take a strangled breath. "We must never underestimate the Akatsuki. Their numbers have been growing rapidly; we don't know how much security has been placed around here.

Hinata cast a sympathetic glance at Naruto, who had his eyes shut tightly and gasped every now and then.

"Kiba," she said softly. "I'm sure we can stop for a few minutes. Naruto will be able to move faster afterwards anyway since he won't have any…" Hinata chose her words carefully. "ehem, discomfort."

Kiba, still looking at neither of them narrowed his eyes. Akamaru glanced up at him with a warning stare.

"Go, Naruto." Kiba said through gritted teeth. "Just hurry."

Naruto sighed, relieved. "Thanks, man, but I don't need to anymore."

Kiba and Hinata both snapped their heads around to face him, with mixes of shock and disgust on their face. Kiba's turned away, "Aw, kami Naruto…" Hinata covered her mouth with her hand and blushed angrily.

Naruto met their gazes evenly, his face neutral, when he burst into chortles. He fell back on his side, clutching the stitch in his side.

"Man, you should've seen your faces!" he guffawed. He wiped a tear from underneath his eyes. Kiba turned to him sharply and stared daggers at him. Seeing Kiba's death glare, Naruto stood up, hands in defeat. "Alright, alright, I'm going already…" Walking away, he disappeared into some foliage, still chuckling lightly.

Now that Naruto had disappeared, quiet descended on Hinata and Kiba. He wished that things weren't so awkward anymore and that they could talk normally, like the best friends they used to be.

Hinata moved her silver eyes upward, taking in the sights of the scenery. The sunlight peered through the canopy above, illuminating the sun dappled leaves scattered on the forest floor. A few songbirds were singing nearby. An orange butterfly landed delicately on a blossom at the root of a tree.

Kiba still did not turn his head to look at Hinata. He was hurt and frustrated that she took Naruto's side again. Blinded by his anger, Kiba wildly thought that she was risking the completion of the mission to impress Naruto. Anger was breaking through to him, and no matter how much he attempted to stop it, the flooding rage freed itself anyway. Controlling himself as best he could, he asked with strained patience,

"Hinata, why did you take his side again?"

Hinata had been fiddling with her fingers, watching a cherry blossom float across the breeze. She looked up at his back when he spoke.

"I didn't take anybody's side, Kiba-kun." She replied patiently. "I was viewing it in the best way for the team. At some point, we would've had to stop, but until that time, Naruto would be slowing us down. Better just to stop now, I suppose." She concluded gently.

Kiba looked up at the tree in front of him. She was right, he realized. _He _had been the one who was risking the mission. It had nothing to do with her taking sides. Without realizing what he was doing, Kiba punched the tree in front of him, while a sickening crackling noise echoed through the forest. Leaves started snowing around them while several birds took to the sky, shouting their indignance. Akamaru jumped and whimpered at his master, while Hinata flinched slightly.

"Kiba…" Hinata began.

Kiba slowly turned around. "What?" he snapped. "Going to scold me for giving away our 'position'"? he air quoted, voice laced with sarcasm.

Hinata brought her gaze down the ground, sad again. She continued fiddling her fingers. "I wasn't really going to scold you as much as advise you…" she murmured.

Kiba sweatdropped. Sarcasm really was on his side today.

Kiba leaned against the tree he had almost knocked over, crossing his arms, and letting out a sigh. He brought his steady gaze up to Hinata. "Hinata, I'm sorry for the way I've acted lately. I know I've been a jerk, to you and Naruto. I'm just really…" he ran a hand through his tousled hair. "really confused right now. It's not your fault."

Hinata stepped over the twigs on the ground carefully, trying not to disturb the area as best as possible. She leaned on the tree, next to Kiba, with their elbows barely touching.

At that moment, Hinata let out an understanding sigh, and under her breath, barely audible, she said

"Kiba, you're my best friend. You always have been. You know I can't stay mad at you. If there's something bothering you, you know you can always tell me about it." she smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Kiba's eyes shot up towards Hinata, and he unexpectedly grabbed Hinata's hand, pulling her closer to him. His breath blew several strands of her hair over her ear, tickling her ear.

"You have no idea what that means to me, Hinata." He whispered, pain evident in every word. He tried to say something, but frustrated stammering was all that came out. Hinata placed her free hand on his shoulder, rubbing it consolingly.

"Do you really want to know?" he struggled to say. His eyes met hers, sadness and frustration leaking through. "Tell me the truth." He said, his voice breaking.

Hinata slid her hand off his shoulder and grasped his other hand. Without thinking, she held it close to her heart. "Yes. Tell me, please."

Kiba's head ducked down. Was this really happening? A voice in him was screaming to get away, when another was screaming to get closer. Risking a friendship for love? Was it really worth it? One wrong move meant 10 years of training, friendship, laughter down the drain. One wrong move meant something that might never be repaired. Tsunade's voice filtered into his head, "_If you don't try, you will regret it forever." _Kiba remembered the pain burnt into her eyes. He let out a shaky breath. Why were there so many risks? Why wasn't it easier?

Hinata watched him with concerned eyes, fully understanding the inner battle raging inside him. A sniffling noise beside her made her turn to her shoulder.

Keikoku was perched on her shoulder, weeping softly into a tissue while munching on popcorn from a container that she clutched tightly to her chest. She looked exactly like Hinata, save for being transparent and 100 times smaller.

_What? _Hinata thought. _What's the matter?_

"Nothing." Keikoku responded, blowing her nose loudly. "It's just so beautiful. Can't you see the inner pain?" she asked dramatically, eyes glazed over with tears pouring out. "He's fighting himself to be closer to you!" she shook her head, as if this should've been obvious.

_No, that can't be. He sees me as a sister, nothing more. He told me so himself._ Hinata responded.

"Uh, he lied? Duh?" Keikoku said impatiently, dabbing at her eyes. She turned sternly to Hinata. "Seriously woman, you can be such an imbecile sometimes…"

"Oh, just shut up." Hinata snapped loudly, without thinking. She covered her mouth with her arm immediately, realizing that Kiba couldn't actually see Keikoku and would assume she was talking to him.

Kiba brought his head up. He stared at her for a long time with an unreadable expression. She met his gaze nervously but still held onto his hand. He leaned in close again, and whispered softly,

"You're not ready."

He let go of her hand abruptly and gently released her hand of the death grip she held onto his hand with. Turning around, he walked away into the green forest to be alone.

Hinata watched the place where he disappeared. She started breathing loudly with anger, and out of nowhere, screamed in frustration.

"Kami! Keikoku, what the hell's the matter with you?" Hinata yelled at her shoulder. If anyone had seen her at that moment, she most likely would've been sent to an asylum. Her eyes wild with an unrecognizable rage, she grasped recklessly at the air, looking for something to beat to a pulp.

Keikoku appeared in a lilac puff of smoke on Hinata's left shoulder. She leaned casually on her neck, one hand at her hip, smirking.

"Your own fault, girl. Too bad, it was just getting to the good part." She laughed.

Hinata slapped her shoulder, but Keikoku was gone. She appeared on her other shoulder.

"Nope. Sorry. Can't get rid of me. Unless I want to leave, which of course I don't. Your relationship issue right now is like a movie. And I never walk out of a good movie." Keikoku smiled. A small beeping noise alerted Keikoku to the watch on her wrist. "Oh, I have a date with Ino's spirit. We're going shopping in Ino's head." Keikoku shook her head. "Girl's got so many clothes in her head she won't even notice if we snatch a few." She giggled mischievously.

Turning to Hinata, she saw a twinge of sadness in her eyes. Keikoku smiled at her. Even if she was annoying, Keikoku was the only one who could comfort and help her right now.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." She stroked Hinata's hair. "Don't do anything until I come back. Think of it as…an intermission in the movie." Keikoku walked over to the edge of Hinata's shoulder. Hinata blinked, and the next moment Keikoku had vanished from her sight.

Hinata sighed morosely, and sat down on the soft floor of leaves. Leaning back on a tree, she rested her head on a patch of moss. She folded her hands in front of her properly, and looked back up at the sky again.

A pair of blue birds passed over her, singing together, making her feel more isolated than ever. She recounted the confrontation a while ago. Keikoku was right. If Hinata hadn't snapped at her, she might've discovered what had been bothering Kiba.

As a teenager, Hinata had seen her fair share of drama and problems with love. She had been there to console Sakura for a whole week when Sasuke hadn't been discovered, sitting beside her and comforting her until she cried herself to sleep. When Shikamaru had rejected Ino, Ino went out and partied all night, obviously trying to hide the pain with drunken happiness. Hinata had been there to rub her back comfortingly when she threw up in the alley, and to take care of her the next day with her hangover. So when the time came that Hinata would need help, she expected that someone would've been there to help her, and not some cynical, snarky spirit, who while well meaning, was all Hinata had.

Hinata wasn't sure how long she sat there, but there came a time when neither Kiba nor Naruto had returned, and she closed her eyes from emotional exhaustion, falling into slumber.

* * *

Naruto stumbled back into the clearing, having gotten lost after his little excursion. Shaking his head free of the leaves and brushing the dirt off his clothes, he looked around the clearing. He sighed with relief when he realized he had finally gotten back to the meeting place.

Hands in his pockets, he walked around the clearing, staring at the forest roof as Hinata had done not long before. He abruptly bumped into Hinata, who was passed out on the forest floor.

Concern flooded Naruto's face. He bent down to shake her awake, his hand on her shoulder, but paused when he noticed the sun's rays illuminating her skin, making her positively glowing. The leaves framed her innocent face sweetly, her hands clasped together by her face. Her hair was radiating a dark, raven aura around her crown. A small smile was plastered on her face, making it evident a peaceful dream was taking place.

Naruto's voice caught back in his throat a bit. All the years he had known Hinata, he had always thought she was peculiar; getting all red and passing out all the time. It wasn't until now that he noticed she was pretty. _Almost as much as Sakura. _He thought. His face suddenly clouded with sadness; he was losing faith that Sakura would ever see him that way.

Suddenly, Hinata moaned softly and started murmuring something in her sleep. She turned over towards where Naruto was, facing him. He leaned down to catch what she was saying. He barely caught the words, but his eyes widened in pure shock and he jumped, gasping a bit.

Saying this was appalling was an understatement; everything he had assumed about Hinata had been dead wrong. He was watching her in an entirely new light now, and he imagined how Kiba would react. Was this the truth he was talking about? But if this was the truth, why was he so angry? This should've been a good thing for him.

Hinata murmured the name again. Her smile grew and she started giggling in her sleep. Naruto turned away from her and leaned against the tree, studying the bark. How would he tell Kiba? Should he even tell Kiba? Naruto sighed seriously and closed his eyes. He knew it was wrong to interfere with love.

A sudden thump caused a large cloud of birds to fly out of the trees at that moment. The sudden disturbance had Hinata sitting standing up within moments and brushing the leaves off her clothes. When she had wiped the dirt off, she looked up to Naruto staring at her with a wide eyed expression.

"Naruto-kun, what's the matter?" Hinata asked innocently. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Naruto continued to stare wide-eyed, and shocked, at her. He hadn't even begun to think about how he would tell Hinata he heard her secret.

Fear licked the edge of Hinata's conscience. Soon, the agitation began to worsen. Had she done something wrong? Was it something she said?

Keikoku appeared on Hinata's shoulder at that moment. She whispered urgently into Hinata's ear,

"Hinata, he knows."

Hinata blood turned to ice. Her heart fell out of her feet. The color drained out of her face and she felt absolutely nauseous, light headed, even. She fell to her knees, eyes imploring.

"Naruto…" Hinata choked out.

Naruto approached her with caution. The twigs cracked deafeningly underneath his feet. He crouched down to Hinata's height and brought her head up to face him.

"You haven't told him?" he asked softly.

Hinata's eyes were filled with anxiety. "What are you going to do?" she breathed.

Naruto's eyes were full of compassion. He pondered for a moment. "Nothing." He replied. Standing up, he walked over to where his pack was. "I'm going to go look for Kiba," he said, shouldering the pack. "Just sit tight till I come back."

Just as Naruto was about to jump into the branches, Kiba walked out from the foliage behind Hinata.

"I'm back. We can leave now." He said nonchalantly.

He looked down at Hinata. She was staring at him with something similar to extreme nervousness, almost fear. Moving his gaze to Naruto, he noticed Naruto refused to make eye contact with him.

Kiba's immediate first thought was to beat the living daylights out of Naruto. Naruto had promised that he wouldn't ever do anything to Hinata. "Lying cheat_". _Kiba growled under his breath.

He stalked over to Naruto, face filled with angry passion and purpose. He roughly shoved Naruto into the tree behind him.

"If you ever lay a finger on her again, I swear, I'll kill you with my bare hands." He spit angrily.

He pushed back from the tree and went over to Hinata, offering her his hand. "C'mon, Hinata. We're leaving now." he said angrily. He turned around briefly to shoot Naruto a vicious glare.

Hinata timidly grabbed his hand as he pulled her to his feet. The pair jumped into the trees above, Naruto following, wondering why Kiba had burst out with such fury.

* * *

A few hours later, the trio was still wandering among the branches, following the rough route on the map. None of them had spoken since the incident in the clearing.

Keikoku poofed on Hinata's shoulder. She was dressed in new clothes, obviously obtained from a little raiding with Ino's spirit. She leaned coolly on Hinata's neck, watching Kiba from behind. She smiled.

"You like?" she asked expectantly, gesturing to her clothes.

_It's pretty. _Hinata thought miserably.

Keikoku frowned. "Naruto promised he wouldn't tell Kiba. I don't think he's one to go back on his word. I mean, look at what he's already done for that Sakura girl."

Hinata remained quiet. Keikoku searched for a way to cheer her up, pointing out the sights around her, with still no response from Hinata. Finally, Keikoku seated herself on Hinata's shoulder and said nothing for a few minutes. Then she piped up.

"He's pretty hot from behind, neh?" she giggled, pointing to Kiba.

Hinata flushed. _No jokes, now. I just had a crap day. Naruto knows and Kiba's mad; I'm not sure about what._

"So, what, Naruto heard you dreaming about Kiba, big deal." She replied, bored, picking at her fingernails.

_I know, but Kiba's still mad._

"Maybe he thought Naruto had made out with you or something. You and Naruto were looking pretty guilty when he came back."

Hinata sighed. _Why is this happening to me, Keikoku? It seems like I have to be the one to fix all the problems._

Keikoku rubbed her shoulder consolingly. "Don't worry, sweetie. It'll all work out in the end. The course of true love never did run smooth."

Hinata nodded slightly. "It still sucks." She whispered.

Keikoku chuckled softly.

**A/N: SPOILER ALERT!!!!! IT'S MEANT TO EXPLAIN THE SITUATION BUT IT MAY SPOIL FOR SOME! DO NOT SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU! OK, let me explain. At first, you would think Hinata had been dreaming about Naruto, right? WRONG. She was dreaming about Kiba. Unless you knew she was dreaming about Kiba in which case I look like a moron. Naruto knows and is beginning to understand why Kiba is so angry all the time; because Kiba loves her back. Kiba, however, coming into the forest, sees Hinata looking afraid because she doesn't want Kiba to know how she feels because she thinks he doesn't feel the same way. He sees Naruto looking unsure because Naruto wants to tell Kiba, just to put them both at peace since he knows both of them like each other. However Naruto feels that its wrong to interfere in love life. Kiba wrongly assumes that Hinata and Naruto were making out or something, and threatens Naruto while feeling slightly betrayed by Hinata. Capiche? Any questions, just review. **

**PS: I really did work hard on this chapter. Even though it's not incredibly long I did spend more time editing it than any of the other chapters. I really would LOVE some reviews, and btw, I DO actually accept anonymous reviews, sooo..PLEASE REVIEW. K, awesomeness, see you next chapter.  
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	6. Walks at Nightfall

**A/N: I am falling in love with my story. I lose sleep thinking of what to write next. My friends are really eager to read this, but I don't think I'll show them for awhile, until I'm really pleased with where the story is. I apologize for this short chapter; it's somewhat of a filler, anyway. Blame my writer's block. I wanted to write one particular dramatic scene, but I'm saving that for closer to the end (sorry!) Hope you enjoy this chapter of The Fork in the Road.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Credit goes to Kishimoto-sensei.  
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Naruto was snoring softly, both arms behind his head, leaning contentedly against a tree. A line of saliva was trickling out of his mouth.

The group had stopped traveling about half an hour ago, when night had fallen and Hinata's Byakugan was too exhausted to scan the area effectively anymore.

Hinata was crouched down by the fire, tending and poking the merrily crackling embers. Kiba was perched in the tree right above Naruto, one elbow casually placed on one knee. Although he hadn't spoken to either of his teammates all day, he had been watching them carefully in his peripheral vision, searching for any peculiar behavior emanating from any of them.

* * *

Hinata had been as timid as ever at first. She knew he wanted an explanation, but was afraid to give one after seeing the glares he threw at Naruto and even herself occasionally. After a while, when Kiba seemed to calm down, she attempted to go up to Kiba and explain. With his eyes focused ahead, he hardly noticed the Hyuga heiress catch up to him.

"Kiba...please let me explain." Hinata began. "I know that it was really, _really _awkward back then, but it truly wasn't what you thought."

"Oh, no?" Kiba said sarcastically, malice biting the edge of his tone. "So what were you guys doing, huh? Braiding each other's hair?"

Hinata turned her gaze down sadly, still keeping pace with him. "No," she responded softly, hurt.

Kiba sighed, still focusing ahead. "I'm sorry, Hina-chan. But right now, I just really don't want to know. I think it's better if we just don't talk for now."

Hinata's eyes trailed upward, somewhat shocked and sorrowful. Without another word, she hopped back to resume her position in the defensive line and re-activated her Byakugan, searching the trees for threats as an excuse to look anywhere but at Kiba or Naruto.

* * *

Hinata tried to appear as busy as possibly adding twigs to the meager fire and spreading the luminous timber evenly across the fire pit, poking it with a long branch every once in a while. She brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She closed her eyes and buried her head in her knees.

Purple dust wafting around alerted Hinata to look up.

Keikoku sat in a similar position on Hinata's shoulder. "How're you feeling, sweetie?" she asked consolingly.

Hinata blew some stray strands of her hair away from her face. _My best friend hates me and won't talk to me, the loudest guy on the face of the Earth knows my deepest secret, and the Akatsuki are basically breathing down our necks with security. But other than that, I'm just peachy._

Keikoku pouted and muttered, "Attitude much?"

Hinata didn't reply.

Keikoku focused her gaze on Hinata's face. "Like I said, it's not easy. Maybe this mission isn't the best place for this kind of drama. I suggest you just tell him that for the sake of this mission, you two just act like nothing happened. Then when you get home you two can have your romantic confrontation in the rain, make out, blah blah blah."

_He doesn't want to talk to me. _Hinata thought back, upset. Hinata, fearing that both Naruto and Kiba would distance themselves from her after the mission, perhaps never even speak to her again, caused tears to well up in her eyes. She ducked her head down again and sobbed into her sleeves.

Keikoku glanced over briefly, eyes widening when she saw Hinata crying. "Oh, kami, c'mon!" she whined exasperatedly. "Yeah, yeah, it's ok, no big deal. You're just overexaggerating since you're tired, nothing will happen." She said robotically, as if it was rehearsed, although still whining somewhat.

She rubbed Hinata's shoulder. Her voice softened. "It's not that bad. Neither of them hates you. I think it's just a misunderstanding here; Naruto knows and Kiba's got the wrong idea. Don't make it harder for yourself than it has to be."

Hinata looked up, tears still trailing down. She hastily wiped them away. _You think I should tell Kiba? Like…everything?_

Keikoku smiled reassuringly. "I don't know. Maybe, but like I said, you don't know what his reaction will be. It all depends on what you want. Kiba does look a bit more relaxed now, so maybe I was wrong. Maybe you can tell him now."

Hinata's confidence went up. _Yeah…Yeah, I will._ Courage flooded her._ Maybe he won't be mad at me, or even Naruto for that matter. Maybe we can all be friends again. _

"Maybe more." Keikoku whispered suggestively.

Hinata beamed at Keikoku. _Maybe he'll tell me what's been bothering him lately. _She thought, having not noticed Keikoku's provocative tone earlier.

Hinata stood and brushed the particles off her jacket. Keikoku was whisked away with the scent of lilacs lingering behind. As she started to approach Kiba, his head snapped around and he made piercing, unwavering eye contact with her. The intense stare intimidated her, and she immediately fell back to her knees again, blushing and covering her face for giving up so easily.

Keikoku re-appeared on Hinata shoulder, obviously frustrated.

"That was successful."

Hinata clutched her knees close to her. _He's still mad. I don't think he even wants an explanation anymore._

"I highly doubt that." Keikoku said, scoffing. "I mean, the only reason he suspects you more is because you back down from explaining. It makes you look even guiltier. Go up to him, and this time, do the job right!" she urged.

Keikoku nodded contentedly after her rant, but then her eyes went wide after recounting what she just said. Then she started giggling softly, to the point that it escalated into uncontrollable cackling, while she clutched her side, gasping for air.

Hinata stared disapprovingly at her shoulder, cocking an eyebrow at her. _I don't even what to know what perverted undertones you just grabbed from that._

"No, no, no I'm…OK.." And she burst into laughter. "No, really, I'm fine." She said, still giggling. "Kami no, I need a moment." She flew off from her seat on Hinata's shoulder and floated off into the forest, her wild laughter bouncing off the trees.

Hinata slumped. That was…productive. She looked upward at the sky, watching the stars glimmer above her. _I shouldn't be thinking about this kind of stuff. I should be focusing on the mission! Konoha's safety should come before my personal issues. _She reasoned. _It's selfish and immoral to put this much thought into…well…no! No excuses! I should be drawing up a battle plan right now, focusing on the Akatsuki's threats. _She nodded to herself.

"Hinata-chan?"

Naruto's voice woke her out of her personal pep-talk. He was sitting up against the tree, watching her patiently.

"H-hai, Naruto-kun. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing." He replied. He stood up, grunting, his joints cracking. He let out a huge yawn, and scratched some leaves out of his hair. "I just thought we should go for a walk. You look kinda stressed."

"Uh.." Hinata stammered. "I-I, I don't know…It's getting kinda late and Kiba should know where we are at all times...making sure we don't get into trouble and all..." Hinata involuntarily started blushing. Kami, the idea of being alone in the forest with Naruto was enough to get her light-headed, her crush on him not having fully gone away.

"I mean, if you don't want to, that's fine." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "I just find that going on a walk helps to clear your head and stuff, you know? 'Sides, you're looking sorta red, you might need some fresh air."

Hinata hesitated. One side of her was asking why she hadn't jumped up and screamed; isn't this what she always wanted? In fact, in the past she had only wanted to be with Naruto, she was just constantly too shy to ask. The fact that he had asked her was only the stuff of dreams for her.

The other side was telling her that this was wrong. Kiba was still mad; she didn't want to make him madder. He would almost certainly be keeping an eye on them, and she didn't want him to feel insecure, especially since he was the leader of the mission and shouldn't need to go around stalking his teammates to find out secrets.

Keikoku was still gone, laughing in the forest; no one was around to advise her. Even so, her voice echoed in Hinata's head angrily,

"_Don't you dare! You and Kiba should be together; you are NOT ruining this chance for some blonde dumbass, you hear me? If you say yes-actually scratch that, you're NOT saying yes. I don't care if this is, or was your dream. You are forbidden from going! Understand?!"_

"Ok." Hinata said quietly, prompting the substitute Keikoku to scream out in rage. She stood up again, ignoring the Keikoku inner shrieking to turn around and leave.

Naruto smiled at her, and beckoned her to follow him. "There's a beach nearby, we'll talk there." He said quietly.

Hinata paused, starting to have second thoughts. She could hear the inner Keikoku sighing angrily in relief. "But Kiba…"

"Aww, screw Kiba, Hina-chan. Look, he's basically asleep up there," Naruto pointed to the branch where Kiba was sitting. He was completely still, and with her Byakugan, Hinata noticed a very steady pulse rate, indicating he was in fact asleep. "He'll never notice." Naruto whispered.

The distance between them was about two inches. Hinata's breathing sped up as she studied his face. _Maybe I do still like him..._

Hinata weighed the consequences. She was sneaking around her best friend when clearly Kiba was only looking out for her well being. But by the same token, she felt like he was being a tad too possessive over her. And this was her dream, after all… For once she was taking charge of what she wanted and was doing something that, at least in her eyes, was reckless; something that would infuriate Kiba to no end. She somehow couldn't bring herself to care ;a small smile attaching itself to her face.

Without waiting for an answer, Naruto grabbed her hand and led her through the winding path of trees in silence, although she could detect his excitement at showing her this beach.

* * *

Hinata immediately felt like a criminal after accepting, but was too shy to ask Naruto to turn around and let her go back. She tripped and stumbled along for almost 20 minutes, struggling to keep pace with him. Her head was down obediently, almost submissively. What was she doing? Where was sweet, caring Hinata, who couldn't make anyone angry? Convincing herself that it was for her own good, and that she was asserting her independence, although to who, she didn't know, she didn't pull away from Naruto, knowing at the back of her mind she would regret it and pay the consequences later.

Hinata brushed a long branch out her way. _Keikoku is going to literally murder me. _She thought hopelessly.

**A/N: K, I hope none of you KibaxHina fans out there kill me. (shields self with frying pan) But I thought that this might make things a bit more interesting. Not to mention, Naruto tends to be seen by a lot as an idiotic blondie, but I honestly think it'll just be more interesting if he's actually somewhat nice and has at least a minimal level of acceptable shinobi intelligence. Sorry for the filler, but I have like a 5 day weekend now, so hopefully I'll be updating every day now. (I'm probably gonna be done this story in like, 2 weeks. :P Oh, and I've already started coming up with another idea for another story, another KibaxHina, but an AU. It's not published yet, since I want to finish this first. Anyway, please, go review, I love reading them!! K, see you guys next chapter.**


	7. Beaches and Betrayals

**A/N: Sigh. Talk about a lack of readers. Oh well, I will not quit this story. I rather enjoyed writing this chapter. Hee hee (maniacal laughter). K I'm done now. Enjoy the next chapter of The Fork in the Road. REVIEWS PLEASE.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I would screw the shinobi life and have everyone bake cookies and dance on ponies. (people stare) OK, fine. I'd actually only add more drama surrounding the eternally amazing Hinata.**

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* * *

  
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Clutching onto Naruto's hand for dear life, Hinata clumsily maneuvered around the large protruding tree roots and slippery rocks. Naruto plummeted bravely through the trees, hardly stopping for breath at all.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped. Hinata barely kept herself from crashing into him.

"We're here." He murmured softly. Hinata sadly regarded the fact that he released her hand. He pushed away some foliage, peeking through the green. He started to trudge through the plants, mutely gesturing for her to follow.

Hinata started to move, but Naruto turned around, and smiled at her. "Wait, I want it to be a surprise. Close your eyes for just a second."

Hinata paused, raising an eyebrow to herself, but shrugged it off and closed her eyes anyway. The soft rustling of the wind blew gently around her, the branches and plants moving in a steady rhythm with the rest of nature.

Uneasiness gnawed at her, having not heard Naruto after a few minutes. "Naruto?" Hinata whispered, frail and frightened.

The abrupt sound of plants moving behind her made her gasp. A warm, calloused hand covered her mouth while Naruto's head was now hovering over Hinata's left shoulder.

"I'm right here." He breathed into her neck, sending involuntary shivers down her spine. Hinata noticed the close proximity of the two, her cheeks red like fire and heartbeat racing. Recalling her childhood memories, she remembered her younger self spending hours dreaming of a moment like this.

Hinata, eyes still shut tight, caught her breath in her chest tightly. Naruto's free hand moved up her back, resting on the back of neck. The fingers danced teasingly on her skin. The hairs on her arms stood on end. Goosebumps formed on Hinata's skin as she tried to comprehend what was happening.

"N-Naruto-kun? What are you doing?" she asked, suspicion, fear and a hint of begging tinged in her voice. Hinata felt incredibly afraid and small compared to him, and certainly not comfortable at all with him touching her neck. His touch sent electric shocks through her, and having not experienced anything like it before, she reacted defensively.

"Oh...I'm so sorry, Hina-chan." Naruto apologized, immediately removing both his hands. "I didn't mean to make you scared or anything. I was just trying to untie your headband from around your neck; I was going to use it as a blindfold. If you're not comfortable with that, though…" Naruto offered, concerned.

Hinata slapped herself mentally. Kami, what did she think he was going to do? Erasing her earlier thoughts, she now became bluntly aware that she was a little sadder now that his hand no longer rested protectively around her mouth and that his other was not…

"What, feeling up your neck?" Replacement Keikoku replied sarcastically. "I'm sure you enjoyed it _immensely, _didn't you?" she spat. "You traitorous little-"

Hinata cut her off, annoyed. _Screw off. I __was__ actually enjoying this immensely, as you conveniently pointed out._

Replacement Keikoku scoffed in disbelief. "Excuse me? I'm trying to keep you from making the biggest mistake of your life!"

_Yeah, will next time, DON'T HELP. _Hinata shot back rebelliously, her newfound independence surging through her. _I don't need you anymore._

Replacement Keikoku let out a condescending grunt. "Just wait till you get back…I'm gonna kick your ass."

_Think I don't know that? _Hinata thought quietly.

But Replacement Keikoku was gone.

Bringing herself back to reality, Hinata sighed disappointedly. "No, it's fine, Naruto. Here." She untied the headband and handed it to him. She watched his face as he accepted it, and smirked gleefully underneath her calm façade when he saw his eyes linger on her bare neck, which had never been visible till now, and mouth hanging open slightly.

A moment later, his hands gently wrapped the headband around her eyes. Placing one hand on her waist, he started guiding her expertly through the plants. "Watch your step." He whispered softly into her ear.

Straightening, she instinctively grabbed his free hand, and heard his smile. Soon, her footsteps became softer until she heard the sound of quiet waves lapping the sand and swirling around some pebbles.

About to untie her headband, Naruto stopped her. "Wait a sec. It looks better out farther."

He continued guiding her further out onto the beach. When her pale, petite feet touched the icy seawater, she came to standstill, refusing to go farther. After several tugs proved futile, Naruto leaned down.

"You trust me, don't you? I wouldn't let anything hurt you." he assured her.

The statement caught her off guard. A younger Hinata inside her was moaning romantically and passed out. The extinguished feelings for Naruto…were they really all that gone? An out-pour of emotions brimmed to Hinata's inner brink, licking the surface. Trying her best to steady herself and reminding herself that the plan was to go on a walk and not to pass out, she nodded slowly.

Naruto smiled and pushed her into the water. After a few moments, her skin adjusted to the temperature and the water felt lukewarm to the touch. The pair traveled deep enough that the water reached their waists. "Look." Naruto said, slipping off the blindfold.

Hinata gasped and choked on her breath. She brought her arms up and covered her mouth. To say the place was gorgeous was an understatement. The sky emanated a deep indigo backdrop, with little diamonds filling and crowding it. The ocean below Hinata was a paler indigo, turquoise appearing every time the waves lapped against her hands. The rocks around the beach had beads of water dripping off them, looking like sapphires in the night. Turning around to see the beach, it was pale white, round lavender stones littering its wide shoreline.

"It's..it's…" Hinata struggled to find a word appropriate to describe the place.

"Yeah, I know, I had a hard time describing it too." Naruto chuckled. "But…" he placed both hands on her arms, turning her to face him.

Hinata's eyes were wide, innocence spread across her face. "Hmm?"

"It reminded me a whole lot of you. The essence of this place…it says Hinata everywhere." He held a hand up to the waves, the sky, the beach. His grip around her arms tightened considerably.

Hinata's breathing sped up to a dangerous pace. _Calm. _She comforted herself. _Calm. Composed. Kiba. Kiba. _She thought guiltily. _Kiba. _

Naruto took a deep breath, gazing deeply into her eyes. "Hinata, I know of your past feelings for me. I know that you all, especially Kiba, hate me, resent me because I didn't notice and stop for you. But when I heard how you felt about Kiba, when I heard you say his name in your sleep…I don't know. I was mad at Kiba for not making a move earlier and leaving you to fend for yourself for years, even though he loved you and could've protected you." Naruto placed both his hands on her face. "And I was so jealous. More jealous than I've ever been in my entire life. I've been searching for the wrong thing for years. I thought it was Sakura, but…it's actually you."

Hinata said nothing, didn't even react. Thrill bubbled inside her, but a small, however weakening, part of her held onto Kiba and staying with him.

"I suppose I ought to thank Kiba; thanks to him staying on the sidelines, I now have a chance to make everything right. Even though I told myself I shouldn't interfere...I don't think I can help myself. After all, all's fair in love and war." Naruto breathed. His cerulean orbs focused intensely on her.

"Pink to purple." Hinata said, barely audible.

Naruto smiled at her lovingly. "Pink to purple." He repeated, letting his forehead rest against hers.

Hinata closed her eyes. It was feeling so right to be here with him. _Kiba…Kiba…who was he again?_ She thought to herself, incredibly dazed. She felt the small distance between them. Oh, how she wanted to close that distance and finally be his.

Keikoku's fading voice entered her head, fazing in and out. "Hinata, no." she implored. "Do this for me. Do this for yourself. He has never been there. He never will. He says Kiba was never there; but who picked you up every single time? Who knows how to put you back together like the back of his hand? Please. You will regret it. I've seen it too many times." Keikoku finished with a tired tone, as if expecting the worst.

Hinata processed her words. Slowly, she attempted to pry Naruto's hands off her face. "No, I'm sorry Naruto. I loved you once..but not anymore."

Naruto watched her with incredulous eyes. "Yeah…alright, Ok, I get it…sorry...I just...yeah. I understand if you...don't feel that way anymore." His voice was painfully hurt. He started to turn away. Hinata sighed in relief, and sadness, and eternal pining. She wished dearly that the moment hadn't ended. It felt so wrong...but...it also felt so...right.

The water splashed. Naruto was back in front of her, putting himself in the exact same position as before.

"Are, are you sure?" he asked, begging for acceptance.

Hinata turned her gaze to him once more and found herself blissfully lost in the sea of his eyes. Keikoku's voice was about to wander back in. And before she knew it, she stood on her tiptoes and tenderly brushed her lips against his, eyes closed and waiting for a reaction.

Naruto stared for a brief moment, and grabbed her fiercely, lips crashing onto hers. He held her protectively in the water, and Hinata wound her arms around his neck tightly. Barely pausing for breath, the two exchanged kisses for the rest of the night, forgetting their surroundings, and being pleasantly lost in each other.

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**A/N: Ahem. Heeeyy guys...c'mon, whatcha looking at me like that for.?...no..seriously, put it down. No really. No, I'm actually kinda scared now. K, I honestly have the phone right here in my hand, I mean 911's not far away, got it? Alright alright, enough of that. No one shoot me. I thought this would be kinda interesting. And unless I get more reviews I will 'conveniently' have writers block and NOT finish the story. Yes, all you anonymous reviewers can review too cuz I actually allow that, gasp. JK, I'll still finish, but please, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. K, see you guys next chapter!**


	8. Follow the Flowers

**A/N: I apologize for the wait, first off. And YAY! I HAVE SOME NEW REVIEWERS!! I also wrote a new oneshot that got a ton of reception, way more than I expected. It's called Awkward. I don't really think I need to explain besides saying that Hanabi and Naruto on a phone never turns out right. It's about Naruto and Hinata btw, but the romance in it is actually non-existent. It's mainly just Hanabi being terrifying over the phone. ANYWAY! ONWARD! And I had a review that said that the kiss scene was a tad strange. Sorries. I'm new to writing romance and fanfics in general, so sorry if it felt rushed and random. **

**Disclaimer: Do you guys seriously care anymore? What, is this like the 70th time I've had to say it, goddammit?! I DON'T OWN GODDAMN NARUTO AND I NEVER WILL!! SUCK IT! **

**K, I'll shut up, go read. AND REVIEW. Kami...**

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For who knows how long, the two stood in the rippling water, attention fully turned to each other. As the hours passed, Naruto's calm demeanor had melted away into something...lustful? Seeing how caught up in the moment he was and how uncontrollable the moment was becoming both intimidated and excited Hinata.

Shivering slightly in his arms, Hinata broke away, much to Naruto's frustration, gasping for air. Completely absorbed in Hinata's scent, Naruto buried his head in the crook of her neck, drawling into her neck.

"What?" he asked innocently. "Too much for you?" He smirked against her skin, and his tongue lightly traced the outline of her neck.

Hinata stiffened and went tense in his arms, her arms falling limply by her side. "N-no." she answered with weak indignance. As if to prove her point, her hands reached back up and rested on his head awkwardly, combing through his blonde strands nonchalantly.

"Mm…" he groaned into her neck. Pulling his head back up, he watched her intently. Without saying a word, he tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear. The robust gaze made her shift uncomfortably on her feet. Gently lifting her chin up to face him, he whispered so softly she barely caught his words.

"Are you thinking about him?"

Hinata's eyes turned to him fearfully, and became tired when she gave up trying to lie to him. "Yes. This…us…" Hinata caressed the side of his face sadly. "It's wrong. No spark. Not anymore."

Naruto's eyes were wide and his face unreadable. His hand reached up hesitantly, and then lightly pushed her hands off his face. "Then I guess that's it." Hinata looked at him guiltily. "I'm so sorry." She whispered.

He stared at her wide-eyed, breathing steady. Her arms rested on his chest, feeling the gentle thumping beneath his skin. She couldn't meet his eyes, and instead, leaned into him and sighed morosely into his chest. Suddenly, Naruto tensed.

"What?" Hinata asked loudly. He pushed her away, his hand immediately covering her mouth. He brought his other hand slowly to his mouth, placing one finger over his lips. Catching on, Hinata nodded.

Naruto turned away and went into a defensive position, trying to watch the area around him as closely as possible.

Hinata tapped on his shoulder lightly and mouthed some words to him. _Who is it?_

Naruto's face was worried when he responded. _Akatsuki._

Dread took over. Kiba was alone, unguarded and asleep at the camp back there. Hinata and Naruto were alone in this foreign area. There was little help for both of them besides each other. And Kiba...Hinata grew nauseous at the thought of what might've happened to him due to her carelessness.

The sea water around them was unnaturally calm. Both shinobi sharpened their ears for a sign of someone, but nothing came. Hinata drew out her arms and activated her Byakugan, scanning the area, with Naruto covering her blind spot. She placed herself in the traditional Hyuga stance, forming several small intricate hand seals and whispering under her breath.

Something approximately 20 yards away moved with blinding speed. The water was barely disturbed, several tiny ripples echoing through the muted sea. The figure had disappeared behind one of the rocks that was positioned in a clump not far away. Something in Hinata told her that her full attention should not be on this one spot. Often, Akatsuki moved in groups. Until there was a clear estimate of how many there were, nothing could be assumed.

Hinata's breathing was very uneven. She realized she wished with pining fear that Kiba had been here. They had been on so many missions together, she knew he would protect her at all costs. She trusted him with everything. And she would do the same for him.

But Naruto...she had gone on less than 5 missions with him, much less an S-rank. He might've been strong, but just how strong? The Kyuubi was very dangerous, and a part of Hinata feared her only protector now. Her Byakugan worked well with Kiba's techniques and with Akamaru, as well as Shino. Naruto's demon was...well, a demon. A monster of untold horrors. Even if it could rid them of the current Akatsuki threats, what about her? Could Naruto protect her from himself?If he became uncontrollable as he had done to Sakura, would there be enough mercy in Naruto to save her? Sakura had a special place in Naruto's heart; that might've protected her. But whatever epiphany she and Naruto just shared was very new and would hardly be enough to stop the insane strength of the Nine-Tails.

A kunai whipped silently through the trees. Hinata hardly saw it coming. It glinted evilly in the moonlight, its tip sparkling with some form of heavy liquid. It slashed Hinata's arm, falling into the water with a deafening _plop! _

Hinata clutched at her arm, the searing pain penetrating through to the bone. This...poison, or whatever it was, was very new to her. It was unlike anything she had been educated about in the Academy. There was no burning sensation, just pure numbness, and then the feeling of hundreds of needles cutting through her. It felt like her arm was being torn apart, piece by piece. Arm from shoulder, hand from arm, finger from hand, flesh from bone.

She gasped and tried to control her voice, but the pain was starting to spread. It went across her chest, sending her breathing into wild gasps and causing her to scream uncontrollably while it spread to the other arm. It flooded down her torso and squeezed the life out of her chest.

"Hinata? Hinata!" Naruto caught her as she fell to her knees. "What-what's wrong with you? It's just a cut." Naruto attempted to pry her hand off the wound.

When he unlaced her steely grip from the arm, his mouth dropped. The bleeding was unbelievably heavy. It came out in a steady stream, dripping into the clear water. The crimson droplets danced around like ribbons on her pale skin.

The cut itself was covered in dark liquid. The blood directly around the cut was not as watery; in fact it was very thick. Infection. With a sinking heart, Naruto realized that neither of them had brought medical supplies with them, not even regular bandages.

"P-poison!" Hinata wheezed. "H-help, please..."

Frantically looking around, he picked up Hinata shaking form and jumped out of the water over to the beach, placing her into a large crevice in a rock.

"Rest here." he ordered. His voice was a lot more confident than he felt. "I'll try and hold them back. If I can't take you back to camp, you need to try and get back yourself, ok?"

Hinata tried to say that she didn't know the way back, as he had led the whole way, but it came out as a sickening cough, blood pouring out of her mouth.

With a grim face, Naruto continued. "I don't have anything to give you right now. I'm sorry, Hina-chan. Get back as soon as you can. Don't even bother waiting for me."

He left her side immediately and formed some hand seals while approaching the water again.

He performed his signature Shadow Clone Technique. Dozens of Narutos flew off in all directions, investigating the area for the Akatsuki. After the initial ruckus, several Akatsuki emerged, lazily destroying at least half of the shadow clones.

Hinata watched with desperate eyes as Naruto fought off three Akatsuki members all at once. Attacks and beams of light burst all around her. Cries of pain echoed through the air. Tears started to emerge. Afraid for both her and Naruto's life, she made sure that she had a kunai handy and that her Byakugan was still active.

After several minutes, Naruto was tiring, and more blows were landed on him. Hinata cried a little harder every time he was hit.

Out of absolutely nowhere, a face, upside down, appeared in front of Hinata. The trademark Akatsuki cloak floated behind the face menacingly. The man's face was scarred and burned, but more frightening than anything, his eyes were full of madness. Pure insanity.

"Well well well..." he giggled happily. "What do we have here? Such a pretty girl!" he stroked Hinata's face, and even though she tried to pull away, the back of the crevice cornered her in.

"Ooh, don't like us very much now, do we? Was it because I hit your pretty arm with my nice kunai?!" he cackled. The sinister laughter was coming out more and more uncontrollably, and he started to unsheath a katana from behind him, flipping off from his position and standing upright in front of Hinata. "That cut there doesn't look very nice now, does it, sweetie pie?" he cooed madly. The katana was held menacingly in front of him.

"It's such a shame, really. You're so pretty, I'd have kept you for myself. But, orders are orders..." he approached with a purposeful pace.

As the katana rose above her head, Hinata squinted her eyes and flinched, waiting for it to be over. That moment never came. Instead, a choked gasp came from the man.

Looking up, her hand was covered in his blood. More of it spurted from his chest. She had stabbed him in the chest right before he was about to slice her in half.

"Th-That's not very nice..." he gurgled with a mouthful of blood. His eyes were wide, and he stumbled backward, falling into the sand, clutching at the kunai lodged in his chest.

Hinata stood and sprinted away from the scene, tears flooding out. She kept thinking she should go back, but her feet stubbornly took her forward, away from Naruto, still fighting for his life, way outmatched. She weeped and tripped over roots, not knowing where she was going, not even caring. She could've helped if she had stayed behind, but a part of her told her that this was no use, that _she _would be no use to him, not when the poison had already taken over so much of her body.

Wildly flinging branches and leaves out of her way, she started losing this confidence. She was cold, tired and absolutely terrified. Collapsing onto her knees, she started hyperventilating. The whole team was split up. Kiba, unguarded and asleep at a camp where Hinata hadn't even bothered to extinguish the fire out at. Naruto, passed out somewhere on the beach probably. And Hinata, weak and tired from the Byakugan, alone and afraid in some arbitrary jungle. And now, the Akatsuki knew where they were. They would have to leave now, tomorrow morning at dawn at the latest. But they would have to get Naruto to do that. They couldn't leave him to be tortured.

The bloodcurdling thought that tomorrow Naruto might not be there, that he might be..._dead,_ caused her to stop crying and lose whatever glimmer of hope she thought she had.

Her hands rested limply in her lap while she ducked her head down. Kami…

While ideas started floating slowly through her head on how to get back to camp, she hardly noticed a change next to her.

Suddenly, a small purple lily emerged out of the ground. It was peculiar and minuscule, about as large as half her pinky. It emitted a small purple light. Hesitantly, she brushed its light petals with her fingertips.

It glowed brighter than ever. A few feet away, another one emerged. It was approximately the same size, a tad bigger. Steadying her shaking body on a gnarled tree branch, she approached the flower. As soon as she passed it, another one emerged, another few feet away.

Noticing a pattern, she started following the purple flowers. Her pace quickened, coming to the point that the lilies were reaching knee-height. She was careful not to trip over their thick stems. The flowers continued to emanate a lavender light, growing stronger as she followed them.

After nearly ten minutes of darting between trees following flowers, she arrived at a familiar clearing. The fire she had neglected earlier was smoldering with gray ash and faint embers. Hands on her knees, she breathed heavily, sweat pouring down her face. Normally, she wouldn't have been this tired after a short jog, but the poison, now having taken over most of her body, weakened her immensely. When she caught her breath, she noticed something strange.

At the other end of the clearing, another small lily emerged out of the ground. It drooped right at the petals, so it looked almost like a lamp directed at something. Shifting her gaze to what it was directed at, was a leaf similar to the shape of a chair. The flower clicked and illuminated like an actual lamp, and the leaf chair turned around. And suddenly the pain in Hinata's arm was hardly anything compared to the fear of what was about to happen.

Keikoku didn't need to scream or yell or get angry or even show any emotion to send shivers down Hinata's spine. Her arms and legs were both crossed. Her face was unnaturally calm.

"So," she said casually. "how was your night?"

Dammit.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I changed it. Don't think it has anything to do with the comments. I honestly regretted publishing the other chapter the moment I uploaded it. I really do apologize for the fact you have to read the chappie again. Read and reviews, please. Thanks a bunch. Reviews, please! K, see you guys next chapter.  
**


	9. Author's Note

**A/N: Hi everyone. After I thought about it, I was seriously disappointed with myself in the 8th chapter. I guess I just wanted to update quickly and didn't really think about what I was writing. And the reviews sort of confirmed that. I really don't like the Naruto rapist idea either, so I've changed the chapter. Go ahead and re-read it, and reviews, please! The chapter ends the same, just different circumstances.**** K, thanks, see you guys next chapter.**


	10. Sweet Dreams

**A/N: Heh, heh, long time no see, eh? Sorry, I had a mean review and it ruined my self image. FOREVA!!! JK, next chappie. I know people have expectations of Keikoku kicking Hinata's ass, so if you're disappointed, let me know, because I just might end up changing it. The story took an unexpected change and I wasn't sure what to do..I had numerous ideas for this chapter. Hopefully you guys enjoy, and if you have any issues with it, DO NOT HESITATE TO TELL ME. Because I will love you for it and give you a cookie. K, I'll stop ranting, you'll read and review, deal?**

**I apologize if I took longer than expected. I've been feeling kinda weird lately, mood swings, I suppose, and I've been neglecting this story for a while because one morning I woke up and found I hated it. Now I don't...but whatever.  
**

**Disclaimer: Pfft, I wish.  
**

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A drop of sweat exploded on the ground. At least, that's what it sounded like to Hinata.

Keikoku stood up, and picked at her nails, bored. She yawned slowly and stretched, her joints cracking. Every moment from her made Hinata jump and quiver.

Keikoku leaned in her trademark position against the root of a tree, scraping at the bark with finely filed nails. She raised her eyebrow, speaking in a calm monotone. "You gonna answer or stand there like an idiot?"

"Uh, yes." She nodded cautiously, choosing her words carefully. "I went out for a walk to clear my thoughts."

"Really, is that so?" Keikoku heaved herself onto the root. "Naruto was missing for a while too. Kinda surprising that you both disappeared at the same time. But I'm sure it's nothing. I'm sure you wouldn't lie to me, would you?" Sarcasm oozed from her tone menacingly.

"Anyway, onto more important matters." Keikoku flipped out a compact mirror and checked her face, dabbing lightly at her cheeks with a powder pad. "I went to visit Ino a while ago, I think you remember. She was asking me which color looks best on my skin tone. I said I didn't know so she was telling me to ask you. What do you think? I mean, we're basically exactly the same."

"Umm…I'm not really sure Keikoku." Hinata replied lamely. "I'm sorta tired, so I think I'm gonna head to bed now.." Hinata inched away from the scene, trying to get around and away without looking too conspicuous. She felt her way along the scenery behind her, hands clumsily guiding her, afraid to look away from Keikoku but also afraid to keep eye contact.

"I thought for sure you would know which color looks best on you. I mean, after that little incident, I'm surprised red wouldn't your favorite; it's all over your face." Hinata froze, and then broke out into a wild sprint away.

"Don't even try, you traitorous little bitch!" she screamed. A purplish root sprung out of the ground, tying tightly around her ankle. Keikoku was floating in front of Hinata's face, glaring furiously.

"What did I say, neh?! I told you not to leave, didn't I? I said to wait! Like, seriously, what the fuck!?" A flurry of swears and curses rained around Hinata's ears. They passed through deaf ears. This really wasn't what she needed right now. Hinata's eyes closed dejectedly and she let out a tired sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose, quietly accepting the scolding.

"You should've told that blonde son of a bitch to go suck it! I thought you were fucking better than that, Hinata!" she yelled. "What happened to my movie?!" she sobbed desperately.

Hinata ducked her head down, sinking to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest and encircling her arms around them. Keikoku only knew half of it. She didn't know that the Akatsuki had actually been there.

"What did he do to you?" she growled. "I swear, I'm gonna give Naruto's spirit something to be afraid about, the stupid bastard…" Keikoku cracked her knuckles dangerously. "I honestly hate that kid. Loudest spirit I've ever met." She muttered, starting to ramble off into a story.

Hinata leaned into her forearms, silent. This was no time for emotions. She had to alert Kiba and get back there to help him. She didn't want to break down in front of Keikoku, not now. Not when Naruto was still back there; alive or dead, she didn't even know.

Keikoku was still blabbering on. "I'm serious; he just left me in that bar while he was off feeling up Sakura's spirit. So yeah, I'm sitting there all alone and go home bilge eating and telling everyone he's gay and stuff, because I mean, honestly, I don't know anyone who doesn't want me…" she chuckled at the foolishness of the mere thought, pointing to herself proudly. "But no, really, he'll be sore for weeks." She assured, serious again.

Hinata looked up, resting her chin on her arms. "You got a point to this shit you're telling me?" she snapped rudely.

Keikoku was offended, and her face twisted in indignance. "Watch it. I'm not at fault here, you are. You snuck off, left Kiba defenseless, and I had no idea as to where you were. Only when you were close enough could I get the flowers to pop up and guide you back. You realize you left for totally selfish reasons and endangered not only the mission's success, but my job!" she spat, and then mumbled quietly, staring at her feet. "And, and your lives, of course…"

Keikoku continued on, her earlier shock and anger returning. "And of all things, you left…why? Oh, I remember! Pick me, pick me!" she mocked sarcastically, jumping up and down in the air, arm raised high. "Oh, that's right, you just wanted to prove some bullshit independence to yourself, isn't that right? Or you just wanted to piss me off and go make out with that ass, huh? Or maybe you're doing this just to get Kiba jealous, neh? Then I'm sure you can get all the attention you want!"

Hinata just screamed into her arms, trying to muffle the sound. At no one in particular though. The buildup of emotions was increasingly annoying and shouldn't have been interfering this much with her life.

An irritated sigh escaped from Keikoku. Lavender air wafted around Hinata's head, some of the dust tickling her covered eyes.

Keikoku's voice was now closer. She was on Hinata's shoulder, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's not about that, is it?" she whispered softly, stroking Hinata's cheek.

Hinata shook her head. "The Akatsuki is there. I just…left him there." She responded, disbelief at her actions weighing down her voice.

Keikoku was stiff in disbelief. Then she did something unexpected.

She kicked Hinata's jawbone, hard. Hinata let out a surprised cry and rubbed the area, wincing and groaning in pain. "Kami, what was that for?" she glared at Keikoku.

"What are you sitting here moping for, then? Get the hell up and go find him! Stop being a freaking doofus and actually be the kunoichi you were trained to be!" She shook her head and rubbed her temples. "I didn't realize I had to tell you obvious stuff like this. Didn't show up anywhere in the job description…"

Hinata tried to snap back, but weakness slithered through her body at that moment. Suddenly, Hinata felt incredibly dizzy. Nausea plagued her stomach, the contents threatening to spill out. She covered her mouth with her hand, tasting coppery blood on her hand. The poison.

Keikoku raised an eyebrow. "Neh?" she jumped off her shoulder, landing on Hinata's knee. "Sweetie, what's the matter…" her eyes grew in alarm when she saw the crimson stain through the sleeve of Hinata's lilac tunic.

"W-What happened?" she whispered urgently. "Was that from the Akatsuki?"

Hinata tried to respond, but when she opened her mouth she involuntarily leaned forward and vomited all over the forest floor, while Keikoku gasped.

"Oh…my..kami…" she breathed. "You..you got it on my shirt…"

"OK, this is officially an emergency." She said sternly. "I'll go get Kiba."

Keikoku whisked off into the trees soundlessly. Several seconds passed with no sounds while Hinata fell from her knees, choking and coughing on the ground, shivers passing though her.

Abruptly, a startled shout issued from the camp ground, followed by a loud thump, rattling the crackly leaves on the ground. Kiba's voice filtered through the night air, confusion in his words.

Moments later, a disheveled Kiba emerged from the forestry, clutching his head and steadying himself on a tree. He took several shaky breaths before he shook his head and his vision cleared. He examined his surroundings before his eyes rested on Hinata and widened.

"H, Hina-chan?" he stuttered disbelievingly. "W-what are you doing out so late…" His eyes noticed her ghostly white skin and translucent eyes, his brown orbs eventually resting on the blaring scarlet blooming from her arm.

"Hinata? Hinata!" he shouted. He rushed over and crouched down, rolling her onto her back. "What happened?"

Hinata's consciousness wove in and out, blurring her vision. She gasped randomly, frightened sobs and coughs racking her frail body.

"A-Akatsuki…" she coughed, blood from her mouth splattering Kiba's hands, Kiba wincing at the sight of her in pain. "Naruto…still at beach…fighting…"

Kiba's eyes were wide. He was the leader of the team; he had to do something. But he couldn't leave Hinata to die here, nor could he leave Naruto to fend for himself against an unknown force. His mind was blank, useless ideas and thoughts hovering around him. Training told him to go after Naruto; his heart told him to stay behind. He knew it was head over heart in this situation, no matter what he felt.

Hinata thought in her mind, eyes closing. _Tell Kiba how to get there._

The familiar scent of flowers floated around Hinata, while a gentle voice responded. "Sure thing."

Her eyes still closed, Hinata sharpened her hearing to make sure Kiba left safely. A confused grunt issued from Kiba's mouth when he saw the purple flowers, but a part of him told him to follow them, despite Hinata's sickly state.

Hinata choked out a few words. "Follow flowers…" Suddenly, she shivered, curling herself into a tiny ball.

Kiba sighed, and shrugged off his jacket, placing it over Hinata. He leaned down to whisper to her.

"I'll be back soon. Don't worry; I'll make sure Naruto gets back safely." He added. "And you promise me you stay safe until then, deal?" he asked urgently. "Promise?"

Hinata nodded, eyes falling shut again. A tiny smile tugged at his lips, knowing that she trusted him, and that she wouldn't break her promise, before his footsteps echoed off into the forest.

* * *

...

...

...

..How long…?

...

...

No, it was better not to know. Better not to know how long she had to live. Better to keep hope that both would return.

The spark of knowing Kiba would never break a promise to Hinata kept her feeble life alive.

But willpower could only take one so far. Hinata took deep comfort in knowing Keikoku was by her side. She sat on her shoulder quietly, telling Hinata childish fairytales of miracles and dreams come true, hoping that a miracle would be what kept Hinata alive. Hoping that her promise to Kiba would be kept.

Keikoku ran out of stories soon, so while stroking her neck, she made up her own about a princess and a roguish knight with a dog companion. And a blonde jester.

* * *

Keikoku stopped her storytelling for a minute and stared at her hand, pure horror in her expression. Please, no.

* * *

I stared at my hand. Please, no.

It was…very, very transparent. Nearly invisible. I never appeared that way to myself, or Hinata. Hinata and I were the only ones who saw me as opaque, as a real thing. But I was fading. And that meant one thing.

* * *

Hinata had stopped responding long ago. I stopped stroking her cheek and stroked her neck instead, worried between each heartbeat that another one wouldn't come. Each heartbeat was another second lost, another second Kiba and Naruto hadn't returned, another second that Hinata couldn't retake.

I sighed. Why were they always so young?

And it started raining.

* * *

She was crying. Keikoku, the cynical, vain, rude spirit was crying. For me.

This couldn't be.

* * *

I was at peace for a bit. It wasn't as horrible as I thought. Death, I mean.

It feels like falling asleep, but a part of you knows it's the last time. You think about the good and bad times, and tiredly, but happily think that you wouldn't change a second. You feel content with how it was spent and wish all your loved ones, even your enemies, love and peace on their life roads. You realize that all of those mistakes you made just made all those victories so much sweeter, and that they made you a better person.

You see beautiful lights. Your favorite people, your favorite things, all in one gorgeous, illuminated pavilion. Everyone smiles and laughs, and they all hug and kiss you, telling you not to be sad or cry, because death is not the end of an adventure; it's the start of a new one.

I agreed completely. I thanked everyone for a wonderful life. Before I passed across, I walked over to a glowing, clear stream running through my imaginary pavilion. This one regret, held in my jewel adorned hand.

It was piece of paper, a name scribbled on in elegant handwriting. I threw it into the water. It floated for a while, before it disintegrated into golden dust.

I was crying, too. That one regret.

* * *

Naruto wasn't in this dream.

But Kiba was.

* * *

Before I left, he smiled that incredible, fanged smile of his, and drew me into the best hug I'd ever experienced. I felt safe and warm and happy, and I felt like I could sing. He laughed at me, _with_ me, happiness glowing on his face for the first time in a while.

I laughed too, for what I didn't know. Celebrating what I had and what was left of my life, I suppose. I whispered my last secrets into his ear, knowing he wasn't really there. He just nodded and pulled away, beaming at me, telling me how proud he was. My friends behind him responded in a chorus of praise.

I studied each face before I left.

* * *

Tenten, the strong, clever, weapons mistress, and the love of my cousin.

Neji, the thoughtful and distant man, with the compassion lying underneath the surface.

Lee, the forever youthful worker.

Ino, the vain but always well meaning beauty.

Chouji, the mistreated, but talented boy.

Shikamaru, the lazy and admirable genius.

Shino…oh, dear Shino. He was such a good friend and teammate. But so misunderstood.

Sakura, the originally selfish girl who grew up into a kind hearted healer and great friend.

Sasuke, the one who I still held hope for, the one who I still believed would return.

Sai, the well meaning newbie.

And then Kiba.

My best friend, my security, my comfort. The one I ran to, the one who really understood. The one who trained with me for countless hours and supported me through everything. I loved him with something profound, something I can't even explain.

The fact that Naruto wasn't there was now meaningless. I didn't need a childhood obsession if I had these people with me. My sensei and other teachers, as well as my sister and father, my family, everyone looked at my lovingly. He was just a friend now. Nothing more, nothing less. Just a beloved and trusted friend.

This epiphany of mine...the regret I threw away was now non-existent. What's from childhood is from childhood. And I felt peaceful.

So I fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Told you there was dramatic twist. Which very likely sucks. Yes, I know what you're thinking. No, I will not answer any questions and will instead leave you with a cliffhanger. BWAHAHAHHAAAA!!! JK, but thank you guys very much for reading. Check out my other stories, while you're here, anyway. Like I said, surprising plot twist and not what I originally intended, but I hope it will turn out OK. If not, then I guess I'll have to change the chapter...or more...again. ANYWAY, thanks for reading, reviews please, they make my day. K, see you guys next chapter. **

**PS: Little explanation, because I hate not telling you guys stuff...Hinata passed out and died from the poison. At least...that's what it seems like. Hope you guys enjoyed...to some extent...**

**PSPS: Don't be surprised if I change the story...again. I seriously just published this since it's been a few weeks and I've had nothing to do. Whatever. And besides that, you guys can cheer me up by clicking that really pretty green button at the bottom...:)  
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	11. Insult to Your Memory

**A/N: Before any of you kill me for the ungodly long waiting period, I'd like to extend an absolutely amazing thanks to all of you for sticking with me this long, even though the story quite clearly sucks. I've had serious writer's block and I know lots of you believe Hinata died...which you will find out about later. All I can say is, be prepared for a serious twist later on in the series, SO DON'T ABANDON ME. For now, I've resolved myself to feeling happy and cackling over the reviews I've gotten lately. Leave me alone, I don't have a life. It's spring break now, which means I'll either be writing for you guys or working on my new story, Kawari, or starting a completely new series, which I've had several friends look over who say they're excited to read it. Beware, this new series involves OCs, and some serious ass-kicking. At least they're good OCs. Or...at least I hope so. O_O  
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**If I get 10 reviews for this chapter, I will actually attempt very poorly to write a chapter that contains HinaxKiba fluff. A lot, hopefully. But I'll edit it tons so hopefully it won't suck. Which also means Hinata won't die. Hinthint (INSERT POORLY ARTICULATED SARCASM HERE)Well, maybe. We'll see. ;)  
**

**PS: And yes, Anonymous Bastard, I feel/fear you wrath. Rawr. And the wrath of all you other crazy and amazingly worship worthy people who actually pay attention to this story. My writing style may have changed a bit, just to let you know, because I've gone under an amazing metamorphosis known as IMPROVEMENT.  
**

**Disclaimer: Wouldn't that just be peachy?  
**

* * *

**Kiba's POV**

I sprinted through the forest, ever so carefully avoiding the enormous lavender flowers springing unexpectedly from the ground. Akamaru panted beside me, determination flashing angrily in his familiar eyes.

I carelessly threw aside the spindly foliage annoyingly blocking my line of vision. I paused and sniffed the air carefully, looking for a sign of Naruto. There was no scent, no trace of him at all…

I grew grave, but more than that, afraid. I didn't know if Naruto was alive. I didn't know if Hinata was alive. I didn't even know if I would survive. I sucked in a deep breath, and collapsed at the base of a tree, resting in the invert of several gnarled roots.

* * *

_I sat in the tree, munching contentedly on an apple, when I heard the familiar, light grunt of my teammate. _

_I leaned over the branch and peered through the leaves, watching Hinata sweat and pant in the smoldering sun, eyes framed with strong resolve. She stood in a defensive position, a kunai held steadily in her hand, and she lunged forward again, swiping the knife at the dummy she was attacking, before rebounding off a nearby training tree stump and whipping out her arm, releasing a shower of weapons towards the dummy, all of them hitting their marks. _

_She landed on the ground, breathing in with great difficulty while streams of sweat poured off her. It seemed as though she wanted to shed her heavy jacket, but her modesty prevented her from doing so. I shook my head inwardly at her, laughing at her conservative view of herself. _

_Hinata stood, dusted off her shorts, and sauntered over to the dummy, extracting the weapons. The stuffing was falling around her like snow as she yanked the knives and shuriken out._

_My mouth had been agape the majority of the time; I'd never seen her act like that during our training spars, or whenever we came across enemies on our missions. I jumped down from my position eagerly and jogged up to her, smiling widely._

"_That was amazing, Hinata!" I laughed loudly, baring my fangs.  
_

_She shook her head, disappointment evident in her tired slouch. "No. I made several errors. I must train harder."_

_I scoffed lightly. "Why would you need to keep training if you're already great? Why keep trying if you're never going to be pleased with yourself?" I gave Akamaru a light scratch as I said this.  
_

_She shrugged and smiled lightly. "I'm not sure why, exactly. All I know is that I'll never really feel proud unless I try." _

_My eyes widened at her words. Then, speculatively, I placed my hand contemplatively on my chin and pondered her words. _

"_Yeah, yeah, I guess that makes sense…" I said. With renewed happiness, I continued. "Well, I'm gonna do the same. I'll never give up!" I shouted, as well as sweatdropping at the irony of how similar I sounded to Naruto. Looking up, I expected her to smile at me, but she was already gone, preoccupying herself with more training. _

_

* * *

  
_

My elbows rested lazily on my propped up knees. I raised my drooping head and looked out into the night.

If I didn't hurry, she would never get to accomplish that. She could never prove to everyone she was stronger than she seemed, and would end up dying in a way that only deemed her weak again.

Naruto would never see the title of Hokage. So many answers in his life would never be answered. So many loose ends never tied up, so many things still left to do. Konoha would be in pieces.

I set my jaw firmly, teeth clenching together. Not if I could help it.

* * *

A petite, limp body is lying sprawled on the forest floor. It's a girl. More like woman, according to the curves on her body. Midnight hair, opulent eyes, fair skin, timid voice. Silent strength, subtle beauty, merciful heart. Sent from home to stop criminals.

She's very quiet. Unmoving.

Her name was Hinata Hyuga. Hated and scorned for the majority of her life, she sought some light in this world of darkness. In it, she found comforting arms, shoulders to cry on, and friends to laugh with. Renowned for her shyness, but also her tireless efforts.

She once had a cynical spirit by the name of Keikoku who sat on her shoulder, who advised her, and made fun of her. Keikoku viewed Hinata's life like a movie and hoped by getting Hinata closer to a boy a part of her would be revived, and Hinata could piece together her life again.

But then again, that was once upon a time.

Keikoku does not exist. Not anymore.

* * *

And Hinata Hyuga is dead.

* * *

A while ago, the flowers had gone out. I relied solely on scent from that point on. Not that there was much to track anyway. I detected several foreign scents, but wasn't sure of whether or not to follow them. I hadn't been assigned on enough Akatsuki missions to tell if these were actual Akatsuki or not.

I followed anyway. Soon enough, the metallic smell of blood wafted up my nostrils. A disgusting, nauseating, and all-too-familiar smell. I already know who it is.

I continued my trek, trying to hold the contents of my stomach as I saw blood spattered knives lying about the jungle. Naruto.

I couldn't give out on hope. I had to find him.

* * *

There's a figure lying out on the sand. Bloody and battered, you can tell it's a boy. More like a man from the set of his jaw and well-toned physique. Sunny hair, cerulean eyes, healthy skin, loud voice. Boisterous power, handsomely carved features, a justice ruled heart. Sent from home to stop criminals.

He's very quiet. Unmoving.

His name is Naruto Uzumaki. Constantly alone because of the demon inside of him, he resorted to pranks to be known, just to reassure himself he was _alive, _and not invisible. Slowly, he gained the trust of his village, creating personal bonds and placing loyalty and hope in the highest regard. He refuses to tolerate darkness, and works endlessly towards bringing his best friend home, to drag him out of the menacing pit that is Orochimaru before it's too late.

He loved a girl named Sakura. And then loved a girl named Hinata Hyuga. They were in the water, on this very beach, when she rejected him. He accepted her words without much complaint. Then, as they were ambushed, he sent her away, hoping with all of his soul she escaped and returned home alive. Often, when Naruto hopes for something enough, it comes true.

Not always though. Now, he sits on this beach, millimeters from death, as he awaits a savior. The earlier Akatsuki are either dead, wafting aimlessly at the bottom of some coral reef, or having fled.

He clings onto home, his friends, his mentors, his memories, his loves. These thoughts are all that keep him from drowning and falling beneath the surface. These thoughts are like a piece of driftwood trying to hold up an anvil.

It doesn't work.

Before he falls below, he remembers something.

* * *

_He and a girl were wandering randomly around the streets. What was her name again? Hi…Hinata? Was that what it was? It sounds right, and it seems to suit her anyway._

"_N-Naruto…" she stammers. "Why…how come you never give up? Why is your resolve…so unbreakable?"_

_He regards her with raised eyebrows. Then he shrugs and smiles at her._

"_What's the point in having weak resolve? Won't get you anywhere, that's for sure." Then he yawns. "Besides, if I gave up, I'd lose a lot of opportunities. There's still things I want to do, __**need **__to do, places to see, people to meet, things to say, ramen to eat…" he continues on, gesturing with his hands. _

The boy named Naruto Uzumaki hangs on by a thread. As much as he wants to sleep, this one memory won't let him, stubborn and annoying as ever.

This memory _is_ his savior.

* * *

I won't believe it. It's just not possible. No, I must stay positive. I can't break down now. No matter what happens, I can't give up; I have to find them, regardless of what I think happened.

Like they both said, not trying never did anything. I would never feel whole again unless I truly believed I gave my all in trying to save them both.

I won't be an insult to their memory. I won't be an insult to what they are, and what they were. I won't be an insult to what they clung to as a life rule, as a discipline followed so strictly.

"I won't disappoint you guys." I mutter under my breath. "I promise, I won't be an insult to you."

**A/N: HAHAHAHA!!! I TOOK SUCH A LONG WAITING PERIOD AND GAVE YOU A CHAPPIE LESS THAN 2000 WORDS!! HAHA-Wait, that's not funny. Guys...please...no, please...(breaks down sobbing hysterically) I'M SORRY, I'M SELFISH, I WANT MORE REVIEWS!!! So, you know, if you could just press that green button down there, you knows, it's right there, says review on it? Sighs, what, you still can't see it? It's at the bottom of the page. And if you're still reading this, you got some splaining to do....no. No, just no. i fail. Whatever, just review. Kami-sama...I don't get it. I've got readers but like, 29 reviews??!? . Sighs tiredly. I don't like you guys anymore. Except the ones who review, I like those people. They're awesome. They can be in my club. (sticks tongue out at people who don't review). But I WILL like you if you review?? (insert hope here)JK, I love you guys for sticking with me this long. NOW PRESS THE GREEN BUTTON, PRETTY PLZ??? K, see you guys next chapter. **


	12. What It's About

**A/N: HIII EVERYONE! LONG TIME NO SEE! Alright, lemme just quickly explain. Since this WAS my first story, I didn't even think about plot before I wrote it, so when I reached the chapter previous, I was unsure of what to do, and as you know, totally abandoned you guys. :( I'm so very sorry. Initially, I was going to trash this, but after seeing how dedicated you guys were and how much you guys wanted me to finish it, I thought I should for your guys' sake. :)**

**BTW, I've fixed the plot. BE PREPARED FOR MORE CHAPTERS.**

**Disclaimer: Oh, please.**

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* * *

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Kiba kept running. Kept pushing himself. His heart dropped through his feet when he saw the sun peeking over the horizon.

"No no no." he mumbled. "No, please. Please. Please." He looked down at Akamaru. "They're gonna be okay, right Akamaru?"

Akamaru looked up and whimpered sadly. Kiba sensed the tension in his friend's eyes, before turning away and speeding up.

He passed through a clearing, tripping on something large and soft on the ground.

"Oof!" Kiba grunted, having been completely winded. A beat of sweat trickling down his brow, he reached for a kunai. And whipped around to come face to face with a translucent Naruto Uzumaki.

He paused, eyes widening as he gasped and slowly pushed himself away from the scene. Blood covered his entire face. His orange outfit was drenched in the crimson liquid. His body was limp and his eyes were deadened. The only sound in the entire area was the eerie whistling of the trees and the ticklish light bleeding into the surroundings.

The tree above Kiba swayed, and a large leaf dislodged itself from the branch. It floated down…down…until it landed on Naruto's face. And covered him off from the rest of the world.

Like a tomb.

"No!" Kiba screamed, jumping over and whipping the leaf away from his comrade. "Naruto! Naruto!" He pleaded, grasping Naruto by the shoulders and shaking him frantically. It was needless to say the sight disturbed him to no end. Naruto, the powerful one, the one who didn't give up...in this state...

Naruto's head lolled around, mouth daftly open as a stream of blood trickled from it.

"Oh kami…" Kiba muttered, running a hand through his unruly, now bloody spattered hair. He may have been the leader but he was at an utter loss for what to do.

At this point, he had two options. He could stay here and try and revive and heal Naruto, and then run back with Naruto at full speed, or as fast as they could go, to the camp. Or, he could carry Naruto as was now and get back to camp at a slower rate. But there were no guarantees Naruto could survive the journey.

It was a game. A gamble.

Kiba paused and squeezed his eyes shut, a prayer on his tongue. He opened his eyes and looked at Naruto's injured face. Regardless of earlier events, Naruto was a good person. He wanted to save him. He wanted to get their friendship back.

Kiba blinked and touched a cut on Naruto's face, gravely noticing the dusty rust left upon his fingers, before heaving Naruto onto Akamaru's back and motioning for his dog to follow him back to camp.

* * *

It wasn't difficult getting back to camp. The earlier trek Kiba had made had left a long series of damaged branches and disturbed foliage to follow back. Kiba and Akamaru switched carrying Naruto every so often.

During the journey back, Naruto slipped in and out of consciousness and coughed up blood every once in a while.

"…Water," he croaked, raising his head to stare desperately at Kiba. "I need…water."

Well, it just so happened Kiba didn't have any water. It was ironic; they were right on the coastline, by an ocean, and Naruto was dying of dehydration and kami knows what else. Along the way, there wasn't a single stream or creek in sight.

Naruto grew more and more desperate in his plea. His breathing pace had quickened, and his fist and bunched a handful of cloth on Kiba's shoulder as he tried to ask again. What alarmed Kiba was after a few minutes, Naruto's breathing had slowed and he stopped asking, scaring him enough to try and find a solution.

Kiba gently set Naruto down on the ground, propping his head up on a piece of moss covered tree bark, before unsheathing a kunai and swiftly jabbing it into the side of said tree. It was an old technique; not always known to work, which explained Kiba's earlier dismissal of the idea to retrieve water. He drove the hilt inward and wrenched the bark out of the way, grunting in effort and sweating from having carried Naruto so far. By the time Kiba's fingers were able to enter the pit midway, he pulled the kunai out.

The knife itself had dug a rather deep pit into the tree, almost reaching halfway through to the center. Insects scrambled out of the torn skin from which they were hiding. With his fist tightly wrapped around his kunai, Kiba anxiously awaited the result.

And a trickle of water began to stream out.

Kiba sighed in relief, running a hand through his hair and taking an opportunity to cup his hands underneath the water and bring it to his parched lips. It wasn't cold, obviously, having seen the conditions of where the tree was living, but despite its lukewarm temperature, it was fresh, and that was more than enough for Kiba at the time being.

Grabbing a large, waxy leaf, Kiba formed a cone shape of sorts underneath the hole, as his makeshift cup started to fill. At the halfway mark, he cautiously reached for Naruto's bloodied, trembling hands, and lightly placed the leaf in it.

"Drink," he ordered. His hands remained upon Naruto's, afraid that he might not have had the strength to hold it on his own.

Naruto nodded his weary agreement, but made no move to do anything. Obviously, his wounds must've been more severe than Kiba initially anticipated, causing him to tilt Naruto's head forwards an inch, and allowing the water to dribble down his throat.

Unresponsive at first, Naruto soon became eager in drinking down as much of the water as possible. He had almost two leaf-fulls, before he had the capacity to support himself and drink rather casually. Naruto took his time in drinking down the water; still unable to speak, his eyes spoke of their gratitude to Kiba.

* * *

Kiba bit on his lower lip nervously. They had been here for nearly ten minutes; and without news of Hinata.

"Naruto, we need to go." Kiba said firmly, although he filled the leaf once more and handed it to Naruto, before picking him up and setting him, this time upright, on Akamaru's back once more. "Hinata's…"

Naruto waved his hand, his voice having come back. "Let's go. I'm better as it is." He wiped his mouth clean as Akamaru started off on a jog again, speeding up by the minute.

* * *

Keikoku huffed.

Dammit.

Dammit, dammit, dammit.

"Out of all people, I get stuck with the one who dies after a couple days of meeting me." She muttered under her breath, crossing her arms meanwhile.

She was in a white room. With no walls, no door and no windows. It was an empty space. Keikoku didn't necessarily classify this as death, considering her obvious displeasure with where she was, as well as the fact she did not feel at peace at all.

"I must be in limbo." She wondered aloud, tapping her chin with her finger. Once again surveying her blank surroundings, she plopped herself cross-legged on the ground, face set in a slight pout.

A few silent moments passed, until a green hued light seemed to emanate from the empty space in front of Keikoku. Being a spirit, she was hardly surprised at the abrupt phenomena.

The air swirled around hazily in front of her. Leaning back on her palms, Keikoku idly flipped her hair out of her face, noticing from the corner of her eye something materializing from the lime smoke.

It became…a hand.

A pale, elegant hand, with manicured fingernails. Keikoku cocked an eyebrow, smirking a little at the strange sight.

The fingers flexed themselves, before a wrist and forearm formed and connected to it. Dangling off the slender wrist was a series of intricate bangles, all clanging when the arm shook itself out.

In a matter of moments, the rest of the iridescent dust had gathered and solidified. Keikoku saw each of the being's body parts materialize. It became…

A blonde woman. Tall, with flowing blonde hair and dark eyes. She was garbed in a set of ghostly white robes tinted with green, all of which floated around her even though there was no breeze where they were. Her skin was pale and perhaps strangest of all...she strongly resembled Tsunade.

Her red-painted toes brushed the ground gracefully. She landed softly, before blinking and smiling a pure smile at Keikoku. Then, she raised her arms high above herself, her long robes falling to her shoulders, and cried out loudly, her Tsunade-like voice echoing around the cavern.

"I am Seiko. Welcome, Keikoku!"

Keikoku stared. Moments of groundbreaking silence passed.

And Keikoku burst out laughing.

She pounded the ground her both her fists, trying to catch her breath from laughing and fiercely wiping away the tears that started to form. Her laugh echoed around the area, as she lay on her belly, her limbs splayed out and moving wildly from her incessant laughter. Seiko didn't move an inch from her previous position; arms still held high, eyes still averted up, even her mouth was still open.

When this had continued for nearly a minute, Seiko's eyebrow twitched. "Is there something…_comical, _to you?"

Keikoku shook her head fiercely, still laughing like there was no tomorrow. She sat up, answering in between her guffaws.

"Are you…freaking kidding…me?" She coughed into her hand, wiping away a few stray tears before finally calming down. "That's a riot, I gotta use that next time." She sat cross legged, examining Seiko up and down.

"_I am Seiko. Welcome Keikoku._" Keikoku mocked in a much deeper voice that Seiko's, using her hands for dramatic effect. She sighed. "I haven't laughed so hard since…last night."

Seiko just stared at her, before sighing patiently, preparing to cry out to the sky again, before Keikoku cut her off.

"Screw the intros, I need to know where I am." Keikoku yawned, getting straight to her point. "Are you a spirit too?"

Seiko seemed taken aback at her shrewdness, but nodded nonetheless. "I was the spirit of Mistress Tsunade long ago." Her eyes seemed to sharpen in anger, but then receded to their usual calmness.

Keikoku cocked an eyebrow, crossing her arms. Hinata hadn't told her much, but she had said that Tsunade was still _alive, _to some means.

"But Tsunade isn't dead. You should still be with her."

Seiko's expression turned sad. "No, she is not dead by physical means, not yet."

By...physical means?

Keikoku found her interest piqued, as her features softened as she asked Seiko again. "So...why are you here?"

Seiko glanced at Keikoku, before sitting down formally on her knees, hands lightly placed on her thighs. "Keikoku, as you know, we are love spirits. We stay by our humans for as long as need be until they've found someone they love. Or until our humans no longer need love."

Keikoku nodded slowly. "I was sent to help Hinata fall in love."

Seiko let out a voice of agreement. "Years ago, before Hinata was born, I was Tsunade's spirit. She had fallen in love with…a certain teammate of hers. I urged her to take on the chances, make a risk to be happy, but she blatantly refused." She pondered this, before allowing her words to recoil. "Well, as opposed to blatantly refusing, it was more of, there was something standing in her way. Many somethings, as a matter of fact, including a raging war. The events at the time made it difficult for her to do anything. Some would say she was wise to abandon love at the time to focus on her duties. Although not me." Seiko's voice turned bitter.

"Tsunade paid me less and less heed with every coming day. And she found herself getting over, not only the person who had supposedly captured her heart for the majority of her life, but also the concept of love. After losing so many close to her heart, I guess she must've found it pretty useless." She breathed through her teeth. "And so, when she gave up on love, I left. She didn't need me, or want me anymore. I had no reason to remain."

Keikoku didn't move, thinking of Seiko's words. "Do you know what's happened to her now?"

Seiko shook her head. "I broke all connections with her that day. The laws of our very existence define us as spirits who can only remain so long as either our hosts wish to keep us, or unless they haven't achieved love and still want to."

Keikoku thought aloud, "So Hinata's in love, but just hasn't achieved it yet. But wait!" Keikoku voiced, a thought coming to her head.

"...What happens when Hinata achieves it?"

Seiko paused, before smiling sadly at her. "You will join me here. In limbo, because your mission has been achieved. And maybe, someday in the future, you may be lucky and be allowed to leave, and help someone else, although that is unlikely."

The blood seemed to drain from Keikoku's body. In…limbo? Alone…for kami knows how long. She'd never see Hinata again. Never hear of her again. And possibly never leave.

"S-so," her voice was timid and choked. "If Hinata were to give up on the concept of love like Tsunade…or achieve love, then I would be forced to leave."

Seiko's expression became even more somber at the fear splattered over Keikoku's usually bright face. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

And then the reality struck her. She already _was _in limbo. The worst had already happened. Keikoku felt sick to her stomach.

"No, not yet." Seiko read her mind, eyes brightening at Keikoku's surprised face. "I merely summoned you here to inform you of what is to come, since you were unaware of it earlier. This is just…to let you know of what your future will be. The truth is, you're not really here."

Keikoku blinked, her nausea subsiding. She slowly, cautiously, brought her own hand up, staring at the skin, until she noticed that although barely noticeable, her skin was almost translucent, and growing more transparent by the minute.

Seiko smiled at her. "Looks like Hinata is coming around."

Keikoku was, for once, speechless, her eyes glued to her fading limbs. "I..I-I" She breathed. "So Hinata isn't really dead?"

Seiko's smile grew. "No. Nearly, though. It would seem the Byakugan has more surprises than we anticipated."

Keikoku swallowed, before beginning to babble as she noticed her time in limbo was decreasing.

"S-Seiko, it'll be okay…" she rushed out, trying to comfort Seiko before she left. "I…I'm sure you'll be fine, I'll do what I can, I'll just-"

"We'll meet again." Seiko cut her off. "Now get back to work." Her voice joked.

* * *

Hinata's eyes snapped open, as she coughed and heaved up blood. She shivered and felt her jaw trembling from blood loss, until she noticed a familiar scent around her. She tried to lift her head, but was unable to, as something warm was also pressing against her crown. Her arms were a lost cause; completely immobile and far too weak to do anything.

A tanned, masculine arm was holding her around the waist, as another one clutched onto her shoulder and pushed her head into a chest that felt incredibly familiar. She was sitting in someone's lap, completely enveloped by their embrace.

Kiba.

He was crying, sobbing softly into her hair. His hold on her was a death grip; Hinata even felt Akamaru nudging into the side of her hip, whimpering as well.

"Please…" he whispered softly, but just enough for Hinata to hear. "Kami…I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry Hinata. Please come back."

Hinata's eyes were pressed into her chest, and she closed her eyes as she let a stray tears slip from her eyes as well.

"Please, kami, no…" He abruptly kissed the crown of her head. "It can't end like this." His tears slipped down from her glossy hair down the sides of her cheeks, and she found herself pained at seeing him like this.

Hinata, being unable to say anything, just mouthed the words, "I'm sorry too." Her lips, which were currently present over his chest, moved forward and brushed the exact spot where his heart would've been.

"Hinata...I just...I didn't mean any of it. Everything. All that's happened, with Naruto and you and everyone...I'm just sorry. I'm...s-so sorry." His breath caught in his chest as another sob came out. "I'll...do anything. Just please, oh kami, don't leave me." He buried his face into her head."

Her mouth still over his heart, she pressed her lips against the beating underneath his skin.

He froze, and slowly pulled away to survey what the small movement was. Hinata's eyes cracked open, revealing the same old white underneath. Looking up into his eyes, she saw a pain reflected in his that she had felt her whole life, from when Hiashi abused her to when her foes stood over her, it was all the same; despair, and rejection.

She didn't want to leave him in this state, and she didn't want to be left alone in her state either.

His face was set in pure surprise, and before he could react, Hinata's small voice croaked,

"I love you too."

Using her remaining strength, she lifted her neck and breathed onto Kiba's warm mouth, before pressing herself upward as she brushed her lips against his, and pressing harder against his strong mouth. She initially feeling the surprise in him, before she felt his eyes close against her own eyelids, as he returned the kiss, fondness in his mouth and love in the way he held her.

This was what it was about.

Feeling at rest for what seemed the first time in forever, she allowed herself to pass into sleep, lips still pressed against Kiba's.

Before she slept, she faintly heard the sound of Keikoku cheering.

* * *

**A/N: ...My crap attempt at fluff. :'( SORRY. I wrote this all yesterday because I read the reviews again and felt like "Wow, I am a TERRIBLE author." Either way, thank you so much reviewers for you amazing dedication and sticking with me thus far, I promise I'll work hard on future chapters and won't make you wait 4 months for more updates. **

**And kudos to anyone who reads my other works and realizes that Seiko is actually borrowed from a character in Seiten no Heki Reki. Review, no flames, please. :) **


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